Storm on the High Seas
by Mixed Metaphors
Summary: Jack Sparrow thinks that everything is perfect now, he has the pearl, a crew and his freedom. However when he meets his old lover Storm O'Connor things change drastically. Storm is angry at him but needs his help. Read and find out.
1. A pair of pirate captains

Storm on the High Seas  
  
Chapter 1: A pair of pirate captains  
  
The Blushing Mermaid attracted all manner of scum; thieves, murderers, pirates and whores. It was a drab-looking building on the outside, squat and ugly, with grimy windows and even grimier patrons. Inside it was dingy and was in varying degrees of decay and filth. There was always some kind of brawl taking place in the seedy establishment (usually starting with an argument over some tavern wench though sometimes they began out of nowhere).  
  
Food was cheap, which was a bonus. Although, at times it was debatable whether the grey, watery substance that passed as stew was actually food. However, the ugly little tavern had one saving grace that kept bringing people back to its grime and blood encrusted tables. Rum. The Blushing Mermaid served the best rum in all of Tortuga. Some even said it was the best (and most potent) in the entire Caribbean.  
  
It was for this reason that Captain Jack Sparrow was there tonight. He sat in a corner of the dimly lit common room, observing in amusement the rough tavern life of Tortuga. He had already consumed about two and half bottles of rum and he was still going strong. The Black Pearl had recently enjoyed a successful venture. They had plundered two very wealthy merchant ships that had been heading for London from Port Royal. Jack chuckled; those were two ships that would never reach their destination.  
  
After another few minutes-and a few more swigs of rum-the pirate captain rose unsteadily from his chair, he'd had enough rum to start the night, it was time to find a wench. It had been a long time since his last visit to Tortuga and it been definitely too long since he had last shared a bed. He tossed a gold coin onto his table and with a tip of his hat to the barkeep he slipped out, stepping lightly over the prone figures of would-be brawlers, and into the streets of Tortuga.  
  
I just hope I don't get slapped tonight, thought Jack to himself.  
  
***  
  
Tortuga. Haven for thieves, sanctuary to rogues and home port to pirates. A town of taverns and brothels. A town of shady deals and general drunken debauchery.  
  
A town of fun, thought Captain Storm O'Connor.  
  
The pirate queen stood, her grey-blue eyes surveying her (and every pirate's) favorite port. Beside her was her first mate and closest friend Faye Roberts and bringing up the rear was Nicolas, another old and trusted friend.  
  
"Oy Mumsy!"  
  
Storm turned abruptly, a few of her black braids waving madly at the movement, and faced her twin daughters.  
  
The two eleven-year olds dark eyes glinted mischievously. The pair had their black hair-so similar to their mother's-held back with matching red bandanas and they wore deep blue tunics and light brown breeches. The matching outfits were completed with two pairs of supple black sea-boots and each twin wore a single silver earring in their left earlobe.  
  
"Are ye ready to go then?" asked their mother, still trying to decide which was which.  
  
"Aye!" chorused the two girls.  
  
"And do ye remember all I told ye?"  
  
"Ummm.," the twins glanced at each other for support. One, Finn, guessed Storm judging from the scar on her forearm, piped up, "Always keep two weapons out in the open to discourage trouble and have another three concealed, in case trouble should arise."  
  
"Good," smiled Storm, "and what else?"  
  
"Oh," said the other, Sam, "One of us must watch our backs while the other watches the front."  
  
"Excellent," praised the pirate captain, pleased with her daughters' wisdom, "now there's one more thing."  
  
Finn and Sam looked at each other again, at a loss. Finn, being Finn, decided to attempt an answer.  
  
"Drunks are easier to steal from.?"  
  
"True..you're right, Finn, I did give you that advice but that's not what I'm looking for. I think what I said was a bit more of a threat."  
  
"Oooh," Sam nodded, "I remember. If we don't stay together, you'll nail us to the yardarm by our ears."  
  
"Aye," grinned Storm, "that's the one! Now just remember those things and go have yerselves a good time! I'll see the two of ye back at the Phoenix before tomorrow morning. If ye get into trouble I'll be at the Blushing Mermaid." She paused, "I warn ye.don't get in trouble."  
  
"We won't!" chorused the twins again, knowing what would happen if they did. To their mother, a pirate captain as she was, it didn't matter to her what the girls did, but if they got caught doing it.  
  
With a final pat on the back to each, Storm took her leave, knowing her daughters could handle themselves.  
  
As she walked, some stumbling drunk bumped into her, nearly knocking the lithe Storm to the ground.  
  
"Watch it, you oaf," she growled as she caught herself. She hesitated then and half-turned to look at the drunken wobbling pirate. Her eyes narrowed as a thought crossed her mind.  
  
"It couldn't be," she whispered under her breath, then shook her head and ducked into a nearby alley.  
  
She needed a drink.  
  
*  
  
Jack managed to scramble back onto his feet, with some difficulty. He had forgotten the fabled effects of the Blushing Mermaid's rum. Swaying slightly, he turned to see the woman he had crashed into.  
  
When he looked though, she was gone.  
  
"I would've said sorry," he muttered.  
  
Then his forehead wrinkled as he attempted to think with his rum-addled mind. There had been something vaguely familiar about that woman.He just couldn't think what.or who.  
  
Jack sighed, he needed a wench. 


	2. Caught!

A/N: I would like to thank my reviewers, Perpetual Masquerade. Thanks a bunch for the review and as to the dialogue, I'm not sure what happened but when I was typing it I did start a new paragraph every time but something happened when I uploaded it. Meh. I'll try to fix that later.  
  
Jen/draca: *huggles* thanx so much! Grrrrr I promise I'll fix the stupid format thingy *shakes fist at dumbass computer* I promise to update (at least more often than random character.speaking of which.  
  
Random Character: Lmao, that was some nice rambling, I don't think any of it made the least bit of sense. At least you reviewed though, which makes me feel specialness inside. Although you shouldn't bug me about updating, she-who-takes-three-months-to-add-her-third-chapter. Lol, ttyl, keep reading!  
  
Also this / indicates italics I'll be using that until I figure out a way to actually keep italics on my story. Just thought I'd clarify that.  
  
By the by I forgot to put a disclaimer on the last chapter so here it is: I don't own Pirates of the Caribbean, I think that's bloody obvious. Although I wish I owned Jack Sparrow, unfortunately only Storm O'Connor, her daughters and her crew are mine. There, I hope that set the record straight, if it didn't, then tough luck.  
  
Anyway, on with the story..  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
"If that's not drunk, I don't know what is." Finn stated, her voice a sharp mix of cockney and Irish.  
  
Sam, ever cautious, peered at the pirate her sister had indicated, "I don't know, I don't think I've ever seen 'im before."  
  
Finn rolled her eyes, "Well, Sam, pirates do come and go as they please. 'E probably just wasn't 'ere last time."  
  
"I'm just sayin' we should know our mark first. Goin' after his gold would be like sailin' without a map!"  
  
"Don't worry 'bout it, Sam," Finn flashed a lopsided grin, "That pirate's harmless."  
  
Her twin raised an eyebrow incredulously, "Harmless?" she asked, her voice dripping sarcasm, "I didn't know that two pistols, a sword and a dagger constituted harmless."  
  
Finn hopped down from the crate she had been standing on and looked at Sam seriously, "Weapons are only dangerous if you're sober enough to use them," she explained and chuckled softly as she glanced back at their target, who was currently arguing with a dark-skinned woman over money and not having very much luck, "Frankly I'm amazed that'un can stand!" she turned back to her twin, "'e should be no problem to us. Besides we're armed too." Finn tapped the ornate daggers that hung from her belt.  
  
"Ye're daft."  
  
"That's never stopped us before."  
  
"Alright," consented Sam, "but if we die, it's your fault."  
  
"Why are you so worried, Sam? We've done this before." Finn smiled fondly at the memories.  
  
"You've done this before, I 'aven't. I just 'ide the loot, you're the one that actually grabs it."  
  
Finn shrugged, they were running out of time, the unsteady pirate had broken off his argument with the dark woman and was-what luck!-heading toward them. They would have to seize the opportunity before it slipped away. There was no time for pointless bickering.  
  
Finn whirled on her sister, "Look, I'll do the whole job if'n it'll make you feel more at ease. Just wait 'ere, if the job turns sour you know what to do. Got it?"  
  
Sam nodded in resignation. Somehow, Finn always convinced her to do things against her better judgement. Perhaps that was part of the reason that they got into tough scrapes so often.  
  
As the girl pondered this, Finn was already halfway down the road and on a collision course with the pirate. Smiling, the little thief brushed against him, and lightly slipped her hand into his pocket.  
  
The situation quickly changed, before Finn had even realized the pirate's movements, he had her pinned against him and her arms twisted behind her in a vicelike grip. She growled, desperately pulling to free her arms and get at one of her weapons. Her struggles ceased abruptly as she felt cold steel at her throat.  
  
"Now wot do we 'ave 'ere?"  
  
At the sound of the slightly slurred, male voice behind her, Finn almost panicked. She was not easily frightened; even when she'd fallen off her mother's ship she had only cried out in excitement and had only laughed about it later. But right now, she was terrified. She was going to die, she'd been caught and now she was going to die.  
  
Sam! She thought wildly, Sam was still in the alley; she could run and fetch their mother, or at least one of the crew. Finn turned her head slightly, hoping her assailant would miss the subtle movement.  
  
/Go! / She mouthed at her shocked and frozen sister. /Find someone, anyone! /  
  
"And 'oo are ye talking to lass?"  
  
"No one," yelped Finn, amazed that he'd noticed, "Just mutterin' to meself!... It's fun! .I'm insane!. Let me go." She ended, as his grip was beginning to cause pain in her arms.  
  
"You were talkin' to somebody lass." Said the pirate, his voice holding a faint trace of.amusement? "Though mayhap you are mad, it's not uncommon for streetrats."  
  
Angry pride surged through Finn, briefly dispelling her fear, "I ain't no streetrat!" She blurted.  
  
"Oh no?" The pirate turned the girl around, still keeping his sword at her throat and looked her over. "Well that's interestin'. I suppose ye're not. Yer clothes aren't ripped, yer clean and I don't think any urchin would own such a trinket," he flicked her earring, "So if yer not a streetrat, what are ye then?"  
  
"I'm a daughter of Captain O'Connor," Finn stated proudly, deciding that honesty would be the wisest course of action, "The finest pirate in the Caribbean." She added, not able to help a little embellishment.  
  
The pirate's dark brown eyes flashed for a moment, almost in indignation, "Oh really?" the question sounded like a challenge.  
  
"Aye," Finn shot back defiantly, catching his tone, "and I'm sure my captain would not take it to kindly if I were to be found dead in a gutter."  
  
"Ah, but who would tell your captain that it was me?" replied her captor, leaning in close, his eyes twinkling malevolently.  
  
"Me sister."  
  
"Yer who?"  
  
"She's watchin' us right now, and if ye so much as 'arm a single 'air on me 'ead, she'll run and get help. Me family's got many allies in this port."  
  
"Ye won't very soon, if'n ye keep picking everyone's pockets."  
  
"It's a living," Finn shrugged, trying to ignore the lethal weapon still poised beneath her chin, "Yer a pirate, ye'd understand better'n anyone."  
  
The pirate smiled, "That I do." He lowered his blade, "Tell ye what, you and yer sister take me to this Captain O'Connor so we can have a talk and I won't 'arm either of you. I'm interested in meetin' this 'finest pirate in the Caribbean." He held out his hand, "Do we have an accord?"  
  
"Aye," Finn sighed in relief, this was quite a turn of events.  
  
She called to Sam, then inwardly winced. Their mother would not be pleased by their getting caught. Subconsciously, she rubbed her ears.  
  
******  
  
For the second time that night, Jack pushed through the crowd of drunken and fighting patrons of the Blushing Mermaid. He followed the two identical girls to a small corner table-his table, the one he had vacated a mere two hours ago. Quite a coincidence, he mused.  
  
There were two women, one with braided black hair and another with flowing red, and a man sitting at the table, drinking rum and laughing uproariously. One of the women, the one with the braids, seemed particularly familiar to Jack. Perhaps, she's the one I bumped into, he wondered.  
  
The two girls whirled around, "Wait here," they spoke together.  
  
They paused and looked at each other, "We've got to stop doin' that," they chorused.  
  
Eyebrows raised, the twins seemed about to add something, then thought better of it, shook their heads simultaneously and headed towards the table.  
  
Strange girls, thought Sparrow.  
  
***  
  
"You what?!"  
  
"We got caught, Captain," muttered Sam. The girls always called their mother captain when she was angry with them; it seemed to calm her down.  
  
"Now 'e wants to talk to you," added Finn.  
  
Storm O'Connor rolled her eyes, "Very well, bring 'im forward. Might as well get this over with."  
  
Finn motioned to Jack, beckoning him over. The pirate sauntered over, expecting the girl to introduce him to the man on the left, instead the little pickpocket made a grand sweeping gesture at the black-haired woman,  
  
"Allow me to introduce ye to the infamous Captain Storm O'Connor."  
  
Jack could hardly believe his ears. Storm? That's who Captain O'Connor was? Of course, he thought, it all made sense now. But after all these years, what could he say, what could he do?  
  
"Storm" he whispered.  
  
"Jack?"  
  
Jack's problems of what to do were ended as a fist met his face. Through his dazed senses he heard the now incredibly familiar voice speak in disgust.  
  
"Girls, I'd like you to meet Captain Jack Sparrow; your father."  
  
Then all went black. 


	3. So what did you do?

A/N: Arrrr me hearties, here be another chapter! Harr harr harr *coughs violently* ok that's enough of that. I feel SO happy at all the reviews I've gotten (considering this story has only been up for two or three days). I feel so loved, imaginary candies to all my reviewers!!!  
  
I'd like to thank:  
  
Jen/draca: Hee hee hee, I do update fast don't I? *Evil grin* but you shouldn't taunt the people who don't know what's going on *wags finger in disapproving way* lol, thanx a bunch!  
  
Random Character: Yay! Glad you liked it! Way to involuntarily ramble. Word to the wise, don't try to break that habit, I don't think it's possible. *patpat*  
  
Spanish Eyes: Thanx! Divine eh? Sweet.I promise I'll keep updating as long as people like you keep reviewing.  
  
Disclaimer: You've heard this crap before, I own nada blah blah blah please don't sue.  
  
*****  
  
Jack didn't awake all at once, in fact it took him a while before he managed to climb out of the oblivion Storm had knocked him into. The first thing he noticed was that he was lying on a bed. Considerate that, thought Jack in the one non-murky part of his brain. The next thing he became aware of was voices. Young, girlish voices, though with a sort of rough accent one doesn't usually expect in young girls.  
  
He managed to catch part of their conversation. One, the pickpocket Jack realized, spoke first.  
  
"I wonder what we should call 'im."  
  
"Come again?" this voice was slightly more refined, gentler, though still with a faint pirate accent.  
  
"I mean, I've never 'ad a father before," she sounded closer; Jack assumed she was sitting or standing over him, "Wot are we supposed to call him?"  
  
"Well 'e is a cap'n, we could call 'im that."  
  
"No, Sam, that would never do, that's what we call mumsy. Calling this'un Cap'n would only cause confusion."  
  
" 'ow about Cap'n 1 and Cap'n 2?'  
  
"That would make things worse," said Finn's voice dismissively, "I'd only mix'em up."  
  
"Hmmmm," Sam (as Jack had deduced) said thoughtfully, "Father is too formal."  
  
Though Jack eyes were closed, the pirate could still feel Finn nodding vigorously.  
  
"Papa?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Well, 'e just doesn't /look/ like a papa. 'E looks like a Jack Sparrow," Jack had to bite his tongue so that he wouldn't blurt out 'Captain Jack Sparrow', luckily he suppressed the urge. "but we can't call 'im that. I mean, now that we /know/, it just wouldn't seem right," explained Finn.  
  
"How about just Dad? It's simple enough, and it's not calling 'im by name."  
  
"Dad," Finn repeated, she sounded pleased, "I like it, that's what we'll call 'im"  
  
Jack decided this would be as good a time as any to announce his return to consciousness. He groaned first (he couldn't help it, the blow he had suffered had given him a headache and to make matters worse, he had a hangover; it was not a pleasant combination). He opened his eyes, and then immediately wished he hadn't as a blinding flash of sunlight glared directly into his eyes.  
  
"Bloody 'ell!"  
  
"Oh look Finn, he's awake!"  
  
"Will wonders never cease?"  
  
As Jack's vision cleared, he became aware of the twin pirate lasses studying him. Once again, they wore matching clothes, down to their bandanas. He supposed it must have been simply for the purpose of confusing people. They were both fairly thin, though well-fed, and were just a little pale. Their hair was a shiny raven-black that seemed almost purple when the sun shone on it. Their eyes were a captivating dark brown. His eyes!- realized Jack, surprised by this revelation. Being a father was going to take some getting used to.  
  
"Well Dad," Finn chuckled at him, "consider yerself lucky, Mumsy could've broken yer nose if she 'adn't been so surprised."  
  
"I must be blessed," Jack muttered sarcastically, as he attempted to sit up.  
  
"You must've really made 'er really angry," commented Sam thoughtfully, "She normally asks questions before she punches someone."  
  
Finn laughed, "That she does," she turned back to Jack, her dark eyes bright with interest, "So what did ye do to her? Must've been pretty bad, judging from 'er reaction."  
  
"I abandoned her."  
  
"I knew it," crowed Finn, punching her fist into the air. Seeing Jack's strange look, she settled back down, "We were making bets," she explained hastily.  
  
Jack almost smiled, he liked this girl. She was almost as daft as he was. Perhaps being a father wasn't going to be so bad.  
  
He thought back to that day, twelve years ago. It had seemed like such a good idea at the time...  
  
"I meant to come back, but there were..unpleasant circumstances. I had other things on me mind." Like killing that bastard Barbossa and taking back the Pearl, he thought bitterly.  
  
The twins jumped up, and each grabbing an arm, pulled him to his feet.  
  
"Well," said Sam, "You'll have plenty of time to explain these circumstances to the captain. She's requested to see you as soon as you awakened."  
  
With that the two girls dragged the still swaying pirate to the captain's cabin.  
  
****  
  
"Copper fer yer thoughts Cap'n."  
  
Storm smiled wistfully at Faye and leaned back in her chair.  
  
"Me thoughts aren't even worth a copper," she answered, an edge of bitterness in her voice. She sighed and leaned forward again, "I was thinkin' about Jack. I don't know whether to shoot him, kiss him, throw him overboard or ask him for help." Storm ran her hand absently through her braids.  
  
"Yer still worried about..?"  
  
"Yes," Storm replied shortly, cutting off her friend.  
  
For a moment there was silence, as both women were lost in thought.  
  
"So the famous Captain Sparrow is our own Jacky," Faye whistled in amazement, "I'd 'eard the stories but I never made the connection."  
  
"Neither did I," agreed Storm, "Though from what I've 'eard, I think 'e can 'elp us."  
  
"So sure 'e will?"  
  
" 'E will when I'm through with'im," Storm commented darkly.  
  
They were interrupted when Sam-or Finn, it was impossible to tell-peered in.  
  
"Captain? Sparrow's ready to talk to you."  
  
"Send 'im in," Storm bade the girl.  
  
"I'll go if ye wish," said Faye getting up to leave.  
  
Storm held up her hand, staying the redhead, "No," She smiled weakly, "Stay, I could use the support."  
  
Faye nodded and sat back down.  
  
Captain O'Connor for her part, took a deep breath, and tried to look relaxed and uncaring. She managed to suppress a nervous swallow as the door opened.  
  
It was time to face the past.  
  
****  
  
A/N: Well I'd write more but it's late and I'm tired so I'm gonna got to bed. I will update soon, I'm already forming the next chappie in my head. Catch ya later, and remember REVIEW! 


	4. Memories and bantering

*Flashback* Jack barged into the small cabin, a wild grin on his face.  
  
"Storm, where are ye?"  
  
"Right here ye damn fool, no need to shout. What.?" The young woman had no time to finish her question before her lover took hold of her waist and lifted her nearly a foot off the ground.  
  
"I'm goin' after it!" he exclaimed.  
  
"Goin' after what?"  
  
"The treasure of the Islas de Muerta!" Jack's face was bright with excitement.  
  
"Islas de what? Slow down Jack, explain."  
  
"Aztec gold luv, a whole chest of it! And I know how to find it! We'll be rich!"  
  
"Rich?" Storm sounded interested, "Sounds like quite the adventure. Will you take me with you?"  
  
"Of course, darling."  
  
"Excellent," She smirked at her lover, "I think you're enjoying the view there a bit too much."  
  
Jack smiled charmingly up at her, "Well it is beautiful scenery."  
  
Storm winked, "Perhaps we should celebrate our new decision, eh?" she said nodding towards the bedroom.  
  
"Exactly what I was thinking."  
  
*  
  
A few hours before dawn, Storm awoke. She reached out her arm to find Jack, so that she could snuggle up to him for warmth. Nothing. Confused, the woman sat up. Aside from her, the bed was empty.  
  
"Jack?" she whispered.  
  
She rose, looking around the dark room for some sign of him. His clothes were gone, as were the rest of his belongings. Slightly panicked, Storm whirled around, unsure of what to do. Where could he have gone? She thought feverishly. Then her eyes rested on a small scrap of paper on the night table. When Storm read the words scrawled on it she plopped down on the bed, unable to believe her eyes.  
  
"Oh Jack." She sobbed. And she wept for the rest of the night.  
  
How could he just leave her?  
  
*End of flashback*  
  
" 'Ere 'e is mumsy, Captain Jack Sparrow."  
  
Jack sauntered through the cabin doors, looking around with interest. His eyes came to rest on Storm. She had changed, but all in good ways. She was no longer skinny, but still sleek and muscular. Working long hours in the Caribbean sun had given her a pleasant tanned complexion and instead of wearing her long black loose, as she used to, she had plaited it into numerous thin braids. She wore a blue bandana, knotted at the side of her head, and a colourful sash around her slender waist. Many weapons adorned her body, including a rapier and dagger on her belt and a sheathed throwing- knife strapped to each of her bare arms.  
  
Storm was leaning back in her chair, arms folded across her chest and stared at Jack. Her gaze was completely unrevealing, her expression neutral. Even sitting down, she had a commanding presence, a true pirate captain.  
  
"So here you are."  
  
"Here I am," answered Jack with a mock bow.  
  
"After twelve years." Her tone was even but her eyes, blazing with rage, betrayed her emotions.  
  
"Bitter are we?"  
  
Storm ignored the question and rose. "I suppose I should introduce you to your children." She gestured at the twins, "Jack Sparrow, these are Finndabhair (A/N: it's pronounced Finn-ah-veer for those who are not familiar with Gaelic) and Samantha O'Connor. We call'em Finn n' Sam for short." The twins gave pirate salutes, "Only they know which is which."  
  
At this they both grinned mischievously.  
  
"Can we stay?" asked one.  
  
Storm paused, "Very well," she consented, "I suppose you have a right to know about your origins."  
  
Finn and Sam exchanged a high-five, "Excellent!"  
  
Storm smiled and turned back to Jack, "Well, truth be told, I had recovered from you leaving me but now that I see your face again, I find it hard to resist the urge to punch your lights out."  
  
Jack grimaced, "You've already done that, luv." He remarked rubbing his nose.  
  
"And I will continue to do so," Storm stated, her eyes boring into Jack's, "once for every day of the twelve that you abandoned me."  
  
Jack thought that over for a moment, "So..how many punches is that?"  
  
"4380, I believe," said Faye between sips of rum.  
  
"Faye's our mathematics lady," interjected Sam proudly.  
  
Faye winked at the girl, "Thank ye darlin' but I figured that out long before now. Your mum was ranting all last evening."  
  
"We heard," commented Finn.  
  
"Shhhh!"  
  
Finn turned to her sister, "What?"  
  
"Quiet!"  
  
"But you.."  
  
"Shhhhhhh!"  
  
"Fine," Finn continued to mutter darkly under her breath. It sounded something like 'not even allowed to say two bloody words anymore'. She soon trailed off.  
  
Struggling not to laugh at his newfound daughter's antics, Jack focused back on Storm, "You know luv, most women just slap me."  
  
"Well," replied Storm, recrossing her arms, "I've never been like most women."  
  
He stepped closer and leaned forward, "So I've noticed."  
  
The pirate queen rolled her eyes and pushed him backwards, "You haven't changed at all, have you?"  
  
Jack gave a mock bow, "Not in the least."  
  
Storm smirked and rolled her eyes again, "At least yer constant."  
  
"And that's a virtue."  
  
"One of the few you have."  
  
"You know luv," Jack said, ending their banter, "for what it's worth, I truly am sorry."  
  
"Oh Jack," Storm turned away and padded over to the window. She stared at the harbour and the open sea beyond. "At the risk of sounding cliché, sorry isn't good enough."  
  
Jack strode up to her side and placed a light hand on her shoulder. "I really did mean to come back, just.." He searched for words, "fate conspired against me."  
  
Storm shrugged off his hand and faced him, one raven eyebrow raised, "So that's your excuse? Fate?" she asked incredulously.  
  
"No, let me explain, luv."  
  
The female buccaneer set her hands on her hips and took a step back, "This should be good."  
  
Jack held out his hands pleadingly, "are you going to hear me out or not?"  
  
With a sigh, Storm nodded, "Fine, let's hear it."  
  
Jack launched into the story about losing the Pearl to Barbossa, the gold, the curse and the whole adventure of getting it back. Throughout the story, Storm listened impassively, though her daughter-and even Faye-paid rapt attention. Finn seemed especially impressed and at the end she clapped briefly-until Sam silenced her with a nod towards their mother.  
  
"Well, that takes care of ten years," remarked Storm as she sat down and rested her booted feet on the table, "if it's true."  
  
"It is," promised Jack, "I swear on a stack of bibles."  
  
Storm regarded him oddly, "You're an atheist."  
  
"It's still true."  
  
"Well, supposing it is, what about the last two years?"  
  
Jack shrugged, "Don't know. I suppose after all I'd been through I forgot about my promise to you. Ten years is a long time." He stopped when Storm held up a slender hand, a pained expression on her face.  
  
"Twelve years is longer," she said earnestly. She sighed again and glanced at her children. "One morning, I woke up alone. After I'd discovered all your father's possessions were gone, I noticed a scrap of paper. On that scrap of paper were written fourteen words, 'Don't worry luv, gone after treasure, I'll be back in a year, I promise.'  
  
I waited that year, after nine months I gave birth to Finn and Sam. I was sad that you weren't there but I thought 'In three months he'll see them!'  
  
But you didn't. I waited the next year and the year after that. Still no sign. I held on though, 'cause I thought maybe you'd run into trouble."  
  
"Which was true."  
  
"Don't interrupt. I waited another six months and then I realized something. I was wasting my life. You weren't coming back. I decided right there and then that I had to focus on my daughters and on myself and not on your ghost. I had to get myself a today and give Finn and Sam a tomorrow. I sold nearly all I had and went to Tortuga. I found a place on a ship, along with Faye, she came with me." Faye winked, "It was a successful ship with a generous captain. After a year's time, I had enough gold to buy meself a ship of me own and hire a crew. Which I did. Same ship we're standing on. I named it the 'Rising Phoenix', know why?"  
  
Jack shook his head.  
  
"Because I managed to rise out of filth and ashes you left me in and become as you see me now. The only female pirate captain in the Caribbean. Not bad for a wee little tavern wench, eh?"  
  
"Ooooo well spoken, mumsy," Sam was clapping this time.  
  
"Come on, dad," goaded Finn, "are you just going to take that?"  
  
"My daughters, eh?" chuckled Jack.  
  
"Oh please," Storm snickered slightly, "If they were anymore your daughters they'd be wearing kohl, drinking rum and getting themselves hung."  
  
"Can we?" inquired Finn. When her parents flashed her a strange look she clarified, "Not the getting hung part but the kohl and the rum?"  
  
"We'll see," answered her mother "in seven years," she added.  
  
Jack stared at her, astonished, "You would deny children of my blood rum? How could you?"  
  
"Don't you start."  
  
"Please, mum.captain," implored the twins.  
  
"Oh Storm, let the girls try some rum," interjected Faye.  
  
"Oh fine," Storm threw up her hands, "If it's a bloody mutiny then I'll give you rum tonight. If you can handle it, it'll be a regular thing."  
  
Finn and Sam exchanged a high-five, "Yes!"  
  
"But only if you can handle it," their mother warned.  
  
"And the kohl," ventured Finn.  
  
Storm cast her daughter a withering glance, "Don't push your luck."  
  
"Out of curiosity," queried Jack, "Does me crew I'm here?"  
  
"I ran into Anamaria," mentioned Faye, "She just laughed and said to give you your comeuppance."  
  
Jack nodded, "She would. So what's going to happen Storm? Because it seems to me that if you were going to kill me, you'd have done it by now."  
  
Storm shrugged, "Maybe I'm letting you twist in the wind."  
  
"Wouldn't put it past you."  
  
"The girls seem to like you," reflected the black-haired captain, "Can't imagine why.."  
  
Finn piped up, "It's the novelty really."  
  
"And he has his charm," added Sam, "Smile dad," Jack did, "See? How can you be mad at that face?"  
  
"Because I know the brain behind it," Storm replied wryly. She frowned.  
  
"I know that face," remarked Jack, "that's your something's-bothering-me- but-I'm-too-proud-or-angry-to-reveal-what-it-is face."  
  
"How do you do that?"  
  
"Do what?"  
  
"Nevermind." Storm sighed again, she seemed to do that a lot when Jack was around.  
  
"So what is it?"  
  
"Hmmmmmmm?"  
  
"What's bothering you? You look worried, luv."  
  
Storm smiled sardonically, "Planning to come charging to my rescue as you used to?"  
  
"I do want to make it up to you."  
  
The female captain laughed outright at that, "Since when have you ever wanted to make it up to anyone? I mean, what's in it for you?"  
  
Jack shrugged, "Not getting punched another 4379 times." He reasoned.  
  
"Good point," conceded Faye.  
  
"Whose side are you on?" questioned Storm, turning to her friend.  
  
"Neither," Faye smiled innocently, "I'm more of a spectator."  
  
"Storm," Jack held out his hands, his face-for once-was serious "just tell me. What do you have to lose?"  
  
"Alright, I tell you."  
  
******  
  
A/N: Mwahahahahaha, ah cliffhangers. They're what keep you people reading my stories. Actually I was going to continue this chapter but I realized it would take too long so I decided to divide it into two. But don't fret, I shall update quickly (I hope). I would like to thank the following.  
  
Sunshine Cammie: See I updated! Now you can't smack me *taunting voice*. Lol. But I'm glad you think it's good.  
  
Random Character: Oh dear. Way to ramble. I should get you a patch or t- shirt that say "born to ramble." I think you talked about everything BUT the story in that last review. Lol. Ya, you're never seeing that $2.00 again. Ah busking, so much fun. Oh great, now I'm rambling, I think you're contagious. Lol. Perpetual Masquerade: Thanks for the support! I hope you continue to enjoy it.  
  
Dreamgirl21147: A gal of few words are we? Lol. Well thanks; I hope to hear from you in the future.  
  
Sara: Lmao! Thanks, but I don't think Will is going to be appearing in this story. Well, he might have a brief cameo at some point *thinks*. Anyway I don't do slash, get your mind out of the gutter. Lmao, talk to ya later. 


	5. Calling in old favours

A/N: Well, I'm back with another chapter. Now this one might be a little bit shorter but don't worry there will be many more. I'm so proud, this story is shaping up very nicely in my head, now all I have to do is get up off my lazy arse and type it up..which-knowing me-could take a while. *Sighs* Oh well at least I'm trying.  
  
Jen/Draca: *Sighs again* Yes Jen, Will is hot but he won't be having a very big part in this story. He might appear at some point though, just to please the rabid fangirls. Mwahahaha there will be many more cliffies (just to bother you).  
  
Random Character: Yay! You found it on your own! I'm so proud *wipes a tear away*. Glad you liked the banter, I promise there will be a lot more to come.  
  
Dreamgirl21147: Wow, you're going to make me really conceited. Lol. I hope the story will continue to impress you.  
  
Perpetual Masquerade: Awww you reviewed again. That makes me feel special. Thanx a bunch, I'm happy that you still like my story.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Jack Sparrow or the Black Pearl, savvy?  
  
On with show.story..whatever.  
  
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"Storm," Jack held out his hands, his face-for once-was serious "just tell me. What do you have to lose?"  
  
"Alright, I tell you."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Storm leaned back in her chair, searching for the right way to begin. So much had happened in such a short period of time..  
  
"Do you remember me brother James?" she asked finally.  
  
"Aye." "Well James had heard tell of a treasure-and not just any treasure, mind you. This could have put James and meself into retirement and bought a ship for each of the girls."  
  
Jack raised his eyebrows, "That much, eh?"  
  
Her eyes twinkling at the memory, Storm nodded. "That much." She grimaced then, "Unfortunately there was an ambush."  
  
"Navy?"  
  
"Privateers," answered Finn, re-entering the conversation.  
  
"Traitorous scum," spat her mother disgustedly.  
  
Jack thought this over, "So it was a trap." He stated.  
  
Storm shook her head, "Actually not entirely. I checked with all my sources. The treasure's real enough, just someone betrayed our whereabouts. James was taken prisoner and his ship was destroyed. I've been hoping to rescue him /and/ retrieve the treasure. I just need a ship."  
  
Jack was perplexed, "What's wrong with yours?"  
  
The female captain looked at Jack as though he had just asked why the sea was wet.  
  
"Did ye not notice?"  
  
"Notice what?"  
  
Finn held up a hand, "He hasn't been on deck for very long, captain."  
  
"And when he was, he was blinkin' a lot," added Sam.  
  
"Hmmm that explains it," muttered Storm, then speaking louder she looked again at Jack, "Alright, mate, follow me."  
  
She rose and padded through the double doors of her cabin, not even casting a glance to see if the other captain was following her. Jack stared after her for a moment, then stumbled forward as both of his daughters pushed him. "Go!" They whispered.  
  
He had to shade his eyes for a moment, blinded by the midday sunshine, but when his vision cleared he could only stare in shock. It was obvious that The Rising Phoenix had been in bloody battle. One mast had been completely knocked over, the sails were in rags and cannon-fire had created all sorts of other damage.  
  
Personally, Jack was amazed that the ship hadn't sunk let alone make it into port. She was in bad shape and it would take months before she'd be ready to go out on open water again. Months that Storm O'Connor and her brother didn't have.  
  
He let out a low whistle, "So ye were there."  
  
"Oh we were there alright," said Storm grimly as she surveyed her broken ship, "right beside him." She turned and looked out over the water. "Until we had to leave or be sunk."  
  
For a moment the woman was lost in thought, then she sighed and turned back to Jack. "So, are ye still willin' to help?"  
  
Jack leaned against one of the masts that still stood, looking casual, it was time to bargain. "Well," he said lazily, "what would I have to do?"  
  
"Basically, lend me the use of your ship," Storm replied, "You'd remain captain of course," she assured him, "I'd give you the co-ordinates, we'd set sail and.well, go from there."  
  
The pirate thought about it, he really did want to make it up to Storm. However, he didn't want to die..He shrugged, he was a pirate after all, taking stupid risks on treasure was his business.  
  
"Well, the Pearl is temporarily between adventures," he smiled, "I think we could arrange something."  
  
Jack was interrupted as his two daughters pounced upon him, hugging him so tightly he almost couldn't breathe.  
  
Finn stepped back for a moment, her small face shining with joy, "Oh, thank you dad."  
  
"I knew you'd help us," praised Sam, her voice slightly muffled.  
  
Jack beamed at the twin girls and glanced up at Storm. His smile was infectious, and for a moment the female pirate softened and flashed a small smile of her own.  
  
"Go on girls," she motioned for them to leave, "Yer father and I have business to discuss."  
  
****  
  
"I'm just sayin' cap'n, that it's bad luck."  
  
"To have a woman aboard," finished Jack, rolling his eyes, "yes, Gibbs, we've heard it all before. She's a bloody pirate captain, I don't think she'd be in that position if every ship she'd ever boarded sank."  
  
"True enough," conceded Gibbs begrudgingly, "but her ship did run into trouble."  
  
"All ships run into trouble!" exclaimed Jack, waving his arms in exasperation. "It doesn't bloody matter whether there's a bloody woman aboard or not!"  
  
"Excuse me," interrupted a soft and vaguely threatening voice. Both men turned to face Captain Storm O'Connor as she sauntered up to them, her arms held behind her back in a relaxed manner. Her calm expression was belied by her grey-blue eyes that were flashing angrily.  
  
"I couldn't help but overhear your loud argument concerning myself and certain members of my crew." She said serenely, "Might I set the record straight with your crewman, Jack?" Jack nodded, curious as to how Gibbs would fare against the most dangerous woman in the Caribbean.  
  
Storm continued, "You see, my good man, there is a certain truth to that superstition, on two counts. One; that most women are raised to be nothing more than empty-headed ninnies, betrothed at the age of ten to some male ninny so they can pump out babies for the rest of their bloody useless lives. These women would probably burn down a ship while trying to light a candle. Two;" Storm held up two fingers, "some women are not like that. In this case another saying applies to them; 'Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn'."  
  
The female captain was slowly backing Gibbs up against a nearby wall her eyes even more menacing than before. "These women only create bad luck if you make them angry. You see, Jack here," she nodded towards him, "he's damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. He's letting me on board but as he's made me really bloody mad at him I'm going to punch him whenever I get the chance. Whereas, if he wasn't letting me on board, I probably would have scuttled his ship and tortured him to death. As you can tell I'm sure, I am the second type of woman and I can make your life very unlucky indeed if you continue to talk about me behind me back."  
  
She smiled like a snake and patted Gibbs cheek, "I'm glad we had this little talk."  
  
It was all Jack could do to keep from laughing as Storm left a practically shaking and wide-eyed Gibbs and ambled lazily up to him.  
  
"We should set sail while the tide is still with us." She said calmly as though nothing had happened.  
  
"We shall, don't worry Storm."  
  
She murmured something.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I said; Captain O'Connor, I'll let you know when you can call me Storm again."  
  
"Ouch," Jack winked, "That hurts luv-captain." He corrected as he caught her dark look. He decided to change the subject, "Are all the members of your crew that you wanted on board?"  
  
"Aye," Storm nodded, "Just a few; Faye, Nicolas, a couple others. I know you already have a fully capable crew." Jack was about to comment on this when two small shapes ran past, one yelling, "You stole my bloody belt! I swear I'll skewer you and feed you to the-Oh hi dad!"  
  
The twins stopped when they saw their parents and grinned as innocently as they could.  
  
Jack turned slowly to Storm, "You're bringing your-our children on this venture?" He asked in disbelief.  
  
"I didn't think you'd have any objections."  
  
"I may not be virtuous, my dear lady, but I don't put my own daughters in danger."  
  
Storm waved her hand, "They'll be fine, if you knew them better you'd know they can take care of themselves."  
  
Finn spoke up, "We've almost died three times already," she said proudly.  
  
"On non-consecutive occasions," added Sam.  
  
"See? They'll be fine!" Storm thought for a moment and shrugged, "They'd only stowaway in any case."  
  
She marched off to consult Faye. Her daughters flashed Jack identical mischievous grins before racing off to explore the Pearl.  
  
The pirate captain merely shook his head, "I think it's time we made way," he said to himself.  
  
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A/N: I guess that wasn't so short after all. *Feels proud* I promise to try and update regularly though. I think once a week is reasonable, eh? Well catch ya later, I have to go work on my next chapter. Don't forget REVIEW!!!!!!!! 


	6. On deck

A/N: Hmmmmmm my readers seem to be dropping the ball, eh? For a while there were only two reviews...tsk tsk *shakes head* you should be ashamed of yourselves. *Sighs dramatically* oh well it seems I'm underappreciated. I might just stop writing altogether. Lol. Just kidding, I assure you. I'm enjoying writing this fic, regardless whether I get reviews or not. But they are an added bonus *cough* HINT! *cough*. However I will now shower my few reviewers with praise.  
  
Random Character: *Grins* I am proud of you; you found it again all by yourself, it's amazing! *Glomps* I'm glad you liked Storm's little rant at Gibbs, I thought about throwing in a punch somewhere but that's more your style. Lmao. I should review your fic again, considering you've reviewed every one of my chapters. *Thinks*. I will at some point I promise. Anyway, keep reading!  
  
Dreamgirl21147: YAY you reviewed again! For a long time you were the only other one besides Random Character who, let's face it, reviews everything whether she's supposed to or not. Aren't Finn and Sam great? I absolutely love writing them in! Hope you like the rest of the story! Keep reviewing, I'm sure it's good karma.  
  
Jen/Draca: That was a close one, I was afraid I was going to be mad at you for not reviewing. *Thinks* Of course it wasn't your fault considering you've been in Thunder Bay. *Shrugs* meh, whatever. Yep it's another cliffie *sticks out tongue* it's the best way to end a chapter cuz it keeps readers interested. Anyway, keep up the reviews! They always make me happy.  
  
To those of you who are reading this fic and are not reviewing (you know who you are *glares*) I curse you! The only way out of this curse is to review! Right now! Do it! Before it's too late, Mwahahahahaha.  
  
Disclaimer: Is this really bloody necessary? *Sighs* I suppose it is.ok I don't own potc, either read the damn fic or sod off. I'm sure most people don't read this stupid thing anyway. If you do read this and you've taken offense to the previous statements then; get a freakin' life!  
  
And now what you've all been waiting for (reviewers and non-reviewers): The rest of the story.  
  
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Storm slept fitfully, her dreams filled with images of her brother. His ship, burning, his crew fighting desperately against their assailants, so many of them dying, either by sword or by fire. James' face, filled with sorrow and horror at the terrible events around him. Storm could only look on helplessly as he-and what little remained of his crew-was taken prisoner. She cried out, and turned her own damaged ship towards the Vengeance-a privateer vessel- hoping to rescue them.  
  
The captain was stopped when a hand, gentle but firm, descended on her shoulder.  
  
"No, Cap'n," said Faye gently, "we've been 'it too 'ard. We'd never make it out of 'ere alive."  
  
Storm shrugged off her friends hand and whirled angrily on Faye, taking out her fear and anger on her first-mate, "Are you a cap'n? Is that your brother out there? It is not your place to tell me what to do!"  
  
Faye, always understanding, took the tirade calmly, "I'm not tellin' ye to do anythin', I'm merely askin' ye to do what ye have to fer yer crew. I may not be a cap'n, but I'm yer friend, Storm, and yer first-mate. Ye chose me to advise ye, and that's what I'm doin'."  
  
Her friend's words hit Storm like a slap in the face. She nodded dumbly, ashamed, and almost mechanically changed their course. Away from her brother's ship.  
  
Storm cast one last glance behind her and immediately wished that she hadn't. The image of her brother's ship burning and sinking, bodies floating in the water beside it, would haunt her forever.  
  
She awoke from the nightmare in a cold sweat, her whole body shaking. But that's just it, thought the woman bitterly, it's not a nightmare, it really happened and now here I am on someone else's ship, with James god-knows- where, hoping to find him before he's hung.  
  
The female pirate groaned, she needed some fresh air, badly. She rolled out of bed, pulled on a pair of breeches and a simple white tunic and slipped quietly out of her cabin.  
  
It was still several hours before dawn and the ship was quiet, even the few members of the crew that were on deck were stealing a bit of sleep. No one paid Storm any mind as she padded over to the rail and took a deep breath of the sea air. Almost immediately, she began to feel better as her head cleared.  
  
Storm sighed, the uneasiness the nightmare had left her with was receding and she was beginning to relax. She didn't want to back to bed though, not just yet. The ship was so silent and still at this time, it felt as if she was the only person in the world. It was very calming, Storm didn't want to abandon the feeling so quickly.  
  
Unfortunately, it turned out that she wasn't the only one up.  
  
"Couldn't sleep, eh?"  
  
Storm winced inwardly, she definitely didn't feel up to dealing with Sparrow.  
  
"No, Jack." She replied wearily.  
  
"Neither could I." Jack moved to stand beside her at the rail and looked out over the water.  
  
"And what could possibly be keeping the great Captain Jack Sparrow awake?" asked Storm sarcastically.  
  
Jack ignored her tone, "you," he said evenly.  
  
"Me?"  
  
"You."  
  
Storm rolled her eyes, "What? Are you wondering how you can get me into bed again? Or how to turn this little reunion of ours into some kind of profit for you?"  
  
"Oh come now, Captain O'Connor, I may be a pirate but I'm not that despicable."  
  
"Do you want to make a bet?" said Storm wryly.  
  
Jack cast her an odd look, as though he had just realized something, "You really are angry with me, aren't you?"  
  
Storm gazed at him in disbelief, "You just noticed..?"  
  
"No no no no, I knew you were mad but you see, most women just slap me and refuse to talk to me for a while. They get it out of their systems quickly." Storm opened her mouth to say something but Jack held up a hand, "Yes, luv, I know yer not like most women and I don't argue with that. However, I've dealt with angry women before but they, it seems were only a little miffed. You, on the other hand, seem to be blinded with rage. From what I understand, you currently hate me. Why?"  
  
"I've already told ye."  
  
"I know, luv, because I left you. I admit, for longer than I meant to but you knew that risk when you met me. I'm a pirate, therefore my behaviour goes without sayin', luv." He paused, gauging her reaction. "What I want to know," he continued quietly, "is what else it is about me that's bothering you, 'cause I can feel it's important."  
  
Storm turned away from the sea and leaned against the rail, her arms crossed over her chest. For a moment she merely stared at Jack, studying him.  
  
"Alright," she said at last, "I'll tell ye. For yer right, Jacky, it's not just that ye left me; yer a pirate, I could almost forgive ye for it. But there's somethin' else, and it's weighed on me mind ever since that night."  
  
She took a breath, trying to keep calm.  
  
"Why didn't ye take me with ye?" Storm asked quietly.  
  
Jack cocked his head slightly, "What?"  
  
"I don't mind that ye left-I always kinda figgered that you'd leave someday-  
and I don't mind that ye have a woman in every bloody port, that goes with the pirate territory. And I can almost forgive ye for forgettin' about me, after all ye went through. But what bothers me is that ye didn't bring me along to Isla de Muerta, when ye promised me that ye'd share yer adventures with me. Ye vowed that ye'd treat me as an equal in everythin', ye always said I was probably stronger and smarter than most of yer crew.  
  
So why, Jack? Did ye change yer mind about me? Was it all a lie just to get me into yer bed? Did ye just see me as another wench, not as Storm O'Connor, yer strong and savvy lass? Or was it 'to protect me'? Ye thought like Gibbs; that I was a weak idiot and I'd be bad luck to yer Pearl? Why? Why did ye leave me behind?"  
  
Jack looked taken aback, he hadn't been expecting this. He studied her face, as always Storm hid her emotions well, though her eyes told stories of their own. He met her gaze and was amazed at what he saw. Not anger, just hurt. Jack had genuinely hurt her, and badly too.  
  
He suddenly wished he could answer her question.  
  
"I don't know," Jack whispered.  
  
"Ye don't know?" Storm stared at him incredulously, "Ye mean ye just got drunk one night and decided it would be a good idea to leave without a word?"  
  
"/Got/ drunk..?"  
  
"Oh yes, how silly of me," Storm sighed emphatically. She sat down heavily on a barrel. To Jack she looked almost.defeated, not the usual image she projected.  
  
Jack gazed at her sympathetically, "Were ye hopin' fer somethin' more, Storm?"  
  
She fiddled absently with her rings, looking in every direction except his. "I don't know. I always hoped that.." She searched for words, "well, that ye'd have some sort of reason.then maybe things could be different.but maybe that's too much to ask."  
  
For a while neither pirate spoke, each lost in regret. Storm's tunic was slightly big for her, it was very loose and ripped. When a light breeze pushed it off one of her shoulders, she didn't bother to put it back.  
  
Jack noticed something on her bare shoulder, a mark, a scar he realized. He reached out and touched it. Storm jerked at his touch and clutched his hand instinctively.  
  
"Ye've got a scar," he explained and winced inwardly. That was stupid, he berated himself, I'm sure she's bloody well-aware that she has a scar. It's not exactly hard to miss if it's right there on your shoulder.  
  
The woman shrugged, "I know, it goes all the way down my back."  
  
Jack raised his eyebrows, "That must have hurt."  
  
She nodded, "Oh it was quite the battle but I gave him worse." Storm smiled faintly at the recollection.  
  
"I've got more than that," she added, and pulled up her pant leg. On her calf was a mass of jagged viscious scars. I was obvious that the flesh had been badly ripped up.  
  
Jack whistled softly, "How did that happen?"  
  
"Got pushed onto some rocks. Hit me head too, I don't remember everythin' exactly. I seem to remember some kind of argument.." Storm shook her head, "It's all fuzzy now."  
  
Jack grinned, "Welcome to my life."  
  
Storm couldn't help but chuckle. "You scallywag," she pushed him playfully. Jack pushed her back. The female pirate raised an eyebrow, "So it's a fight ye want eh?"  
  
Before Jack had a chance to react, Storm pounced on him, tickling him unmercifully. The hapless pirate doubled up with laughter and nearly collapsed before he managed to squeeze Storm's sides.  
  
She yelped and sprang away for a moment, releasing him briefly. She recovered from the attack quickly, however, and seconds later Storm had succeeded in pinning Jack to the deck.  
  
For a moment, they could only pant from exertion and didn't move from their position, Jack on the floorboards, and Storm sitting on his chest. It wasn't a long moment, but, briefly it was like old times, when they had still been friends..and lovers.  
  
It ended quickly. Storm rolled off of Jack and brushed herself off absently. Jack struggled to his feet a bit drunkenly (everything he did was done drunkenly). They were both a little ruffled and unsure of what had just happened.  
  
"I believe I'll just go try to catch a bit more sleep," Storm said starting to back away.  
  
She turned to leave, then stopped, as though remembering something. She turned back to Jack and without any warning, decked him.  
  
Just like that.  
  
And then she was gone.  
  
Leaving a very befuddled Jack.  
  
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A/N: Well here it is, at last. Kinda broke my promise about once a week, eh? Ah well, take it or leave it. Next week: A visit with Will and Elizabeth! Won't that be fun?  
  
Oh don't forget the curse about not reviewing..I'm not sure what will happen to you if you don't but you can be certain it will be bad. So REVIEW..just in case. Catch ya later, mateys! 


	7. Arguments and a nasty surprise

A/N: I don't have much to say.except that I'm happy to say that this story is really really starting to sort itself out. Which makes me happy, I must say. In regards to this chapter, I wasn't originally going to have Will and Elizabeth in this story (no offense to their fans but I find them kinda boring, what with the damsel in distress thing and the I'm-not-a-pirate-I'm- a-herioc-and-dashing-blacksmith). I don't hate them, I think they work very well in the movie.just not in this story, which is all about Jack and his pissed off old girlfriend. But as my friends all love Will (and are incredibly jealous of Elizabeth) he, (and his wife, sorry to all my fangirl friends) will be getting a brief cameo. Just one!......Unless someone convinces me otherwise. Do you know /how/ to convince me? That's right! REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! For every ten reviews I get, Will gets another part..and his wife, once again to the fangirls, I'm sorry that's just how the story goes. Now for the next part of the author's note ritual; thanking reviewers.  
  
Random Character: Once again.interesting review.Lmao well I'm glad you liked it again *grins* and although you didn't spell thesauruses right you did manage to spell favourite right. You wrote it the Canadian way *huggles* and that's all that matters. Oh and next time try not to write a review when you're hungry. Lmao.  
  
Dreamgirl21147: Don't worry you're definitely not a brat! In fact you're rapidly becoming one of my favourite reviewers! Just because you always bother to review after every chapter *huggles*. Guess what, Finn and Sam are back in this chapter as they provide excellent comic relief. The only reason they weren't in the last chappie was cuz they just didn't fit the whole angsty mood. But they're back!! Just for you *winkwink* (well not actually just for you, they're my favourite characters too, but doesn't it make you feel special?) So enjoy!!!!  
  
Sunshine Cammie: Lmao yes I know the tickle fight was random but I felt the story needed at least one. *Sighs* Will is going to be in this chapter, hope you like it. After all, I'm putting him in for you and Jen/Draca. Ttyl, ta.  
  
Jen/Draca: Here you go, this chapter is mostly for you (and Sunshine Cammie of course). And there's plenty more of Finn and Sam as everybody loves them. Anyway as usual, hope you like this chappie and keep reviewing.  
  
Perpetual Masquerade: Oh good you're still there! I was starting to think you'd forgotten about me *pouts*. But you're back!!! So that's good *ceases pouting*. Well I'm glad you think it's so good, I shall do my best to keep impressing you (and my other readers). Catch ya later.  
  
Disclaimer: You know I'm not even going to bother this time, you know the drill.  
  
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The usual routine for Captain Jack Sparrow was to wake up around noon, stumble out of his cabin an hour later, order the crew around or set a new course to some random island or port that had suddenly struck his fancy, take the helm or muck about with sails and ropes til evening and drink himself stupid until Anamaria told him to go to bed. This system was repeated without fail everyday and all of Jack's crew had settled into it quite nicely. There was overall a sense of security on the Pearl (odd for a pirate ship) but with a nice taste of chaos that the unpredictable and insane captain provided.  
  
However, Jack's equally crazy and mischievous daughters had other things in mind.  
  
"Come on you lazy sack of bones! Wake up!" yelled Finn and Sam while whacking their father with a pillow.  
  
The hungover pirate (A/N: face it, he's always hungover in the morning.) groaned and tried to roll over. His daughters persisted though and even began singing an impromptu song as they bludgeoned him with cushions.  
  
/This is 'ow we beat our dad Beat our dad, beat our dad This is 'ow we beat our dad All the morning long.  
  
'E's a lazy sack of bones Sack of bones, sack of bones 'E's a lazy sack of bones 'Cause 'e lies in bed all day.  
  
We'll beat 'im from dawn til dusk Dawn til dusk, dawn til dusk We'll beat 'im from dawn til dusk Unless 'e gets up now. /  
  
At the last line of their little ditty, Jack poked his head reluctantly out of the covers and opened one eye.  
  
"This is 'ardly a respectful way to treat yer elders," he mumbled dozily.  
  
The twins shrugged non-commitedly, "Well we say yer only as old as you act so in theory, judgin' from yer level of maturity and ours, we're /yer/ elders."  
  
Jack merely grunted in response and buried his head once more. After Storm's violent exit he had had a bit of a binge (even more rum than usual) and had gone to bed angry, drunk and confused. Altogether he hadn't had enough sleep and was now not in the mood to face a new day.  
  
Finn frowned and decided it was time for desperate measures. Without any warning she jumped on the poor beleaguered pirate captain's chest and commenced torturing him. Mostly by slapping him about the face while Sam maliciously tickled his exposed feet.  
  
"Ouch," Jack cried, "Alright, alright ye fiends disguised as daughters. What do ye want?"  
  
The girls ceased pummeling him for a moment and simultaneously flashed their trademark grin.  
  
"We want to take the helm!" exclaimed Sam excitedly.  
  
"Ye want to take the helm?"  
  
"That's right!"  
  
"My helm?"  
  
"Aye."  
  
"On my ship?"  
  
"Aye."  
  
"Both of you..?"  
  
Finn and Sam shrugged, "We'd take turns," clarified Finn.  
  
A thought seemed to strike Jack and he rose, studying his children warily, "Does yer mother know yer here?"  
  
The twins looked sheepish, then defensive, "Mumsy don't enter into it," Finn said brusquely, "It's yer ship and we're askin' ye." Added Sam matter- of-factly.  
  
"Do ye even know how to use the helm?" Jack asked, he had a sinking feeling that he wasn't going to win this argument.  
  
"No," said the girls brightly, "but ye can teach us."  
  
"And if I don't want to.?"  
  
Jack daughters were expecting this and already had a plan, "We have information you might want," remarked Sam.  
  
"Information.?" Jack sat up slightly.  
  
"About Mumsy," Finn hinted, her dark eyes twinkling.  
  
They'd definitely piqued Jack's curiosity. At the moment he could've used any insight into the moody, unpredictable female pirate's mind.  
  
He sighed, "Alright, what's this information, then?"  
  
Finn shook her head, "Ah ah ah, you have to promise to teach us how to use the helm first."  
  
"Very well," Jack held out his hands, Sam and Finn each took one and shook it solemnly, "We have an accord."  
  
After they had all shaken hands, the twins leaned forward conspiratorally to share their information. Jack found himself unconsciously leaning forward too.  
  
"You know how mumsy said she'd punch you everyday?" began Sam.  
  
Jack nodded and winced at the memories of the last two hits. Storm was quite strong and her punches hurt a lot.  
  
"Well," continued Finn, "We know for a fact that if you apologize everytime you see her, she won't do it."  
  
"Really?"  
  
The girls nodded simultaneously.  
  
"That's all it takes?" Jack asked incredulously. He was amazed, all he needed to do was apologize and Storm wouldn't hit him?  
  
"Yep."  
  
Jack grinned lopsidedly, "Well thank ye luvs. That's quite a help."  
  
"Our bargain?" prodded Finn sternly, hands on hips.  
  
Jack squinted, for a moment she almost seemed like a half-size version of her mother.  
  
He sighed, it seemed he was to get no more sleep today, "I'll honour it."  
  
When the captain still didn't move his daughters barked, "Now!" forcing him unconsciously into action.  
  
"We'll meet you on deck," stated Sam, and the twins departed all-smiles, leaving their father to get dressed reluctantly.  
  
***  
  
Out on deck, a couple of hours and a bottle of rum later, Jack was really enjoying himself. His daughters were amazingly good at the helm and he found that he could even leave them for short spans of time, only occasionnally wandering back to make certain that they were on the proper course.  
  
As he was touring the ship, checking on his crew, he saw Storm approach out of the corner of his eye.  
  
Remembering Finn and Sam's advice he whirled about, bowed his head and as sincerely as he could exclaimed, "sorry!"  
  
Storm lowered her fist-it had been inches from Jack's face-and raised an eyebrow.  
  
Jack whistled in admiration, "excellent control."  
  
The female pirate ignored the compliment, "Have ye been talkin' to me daughters?"  
  
He shrugged, "Our daughters, yes."  
  
In a move that was rapidly becoming routine Storm slugged Jack across the face.  
  
Jack grimaced and clutched his bruising cheek. He realized-vaguely-that she hadn't hit him quite as hard as the previous times.  
  
"Ouch," he hissed, "That was uncalled for!"  
  
Storm looked smug, "That was for exploitin' /my/ daughters."  
  
"I wasn't exploiting them," Jack protested vehemently, "we made a deal!"  
  
Storm merely laughed at his expense and strode off to help with the sails. Jack watched her go and sighed, he'd truly forgotten how much of a mystery Storm really was.  
  
"Oy Anamaria!" he called abruptly.  
  
The dark-skinned woman glanced over her shoulder at the captain, "Aye?"  
  
"What's our position?"  
  
"Oh, I'd say about, two leagues south-east of Port Royal." Said Ana after a moment's thought.  
  
Jack nodded pensively. After a short pause he shouted an order, "Change course for Port Royal." The crew hastened to obey.  
  
"What?" Cried Storm.  
  
"Do you have an objection, Captain?" Somehow, Jack managed to make the title of 'captain' and insult.  
  
The woman stalked angrily up to him, "Stopping in Port Royal will make us lose valuable time."  
  
"We're runnin' a bit low on supplies," explained Jack innocently.  
  
Storm scowled, "Naval officers could be torturin' me brother as we speak and yer more concerned with the fact that yer down to only four barrels of rum??!!?"  
  
"Look," Jack leaned forward, suddenly serious, "Me crew's itchy for some shoreleave. I had to cut short our visit to Tortuga for this venture and we've been pushing them hard for the past fortnight. They need a rest. It'll just be for one night and then we're back on trail. Besides," he added, "I've some business of me own."  
  
"The trail could be cold by the time we get back onto open water!" blurted Storm.  
  
"Do ye want a bloody mutiny on yer hands?" The pirate threw up his hands, "Because I don't, and that's what I'll get if we don't stop for a night. Me crew need rest!"  
  
"Sucks to yer crew!" Storm shouted, "they're not in danger of dying! James is! I am not goin' to abandon him just because yer crew is in whore withdrawal!"  
  
"Just out of curiosity, Captain O'Connor," asked Jack loudly, "whatever happened to the code?"  
  
She glared daggers at him, "When family's involved, the code be hanged. Ye disappoint me Sparrow, I never thought ye'd try to hide behind the code. Ye seemed to have turned coward since I knew ye."  
  
Blinded by rage, Jack shoved Storm against a nearby mast, knocking the wind out of her. The female captain was shocked to discover he had also pressed a pistol barrel against her temple.  
  
"Listen O'Connor," growled Jack, "This is my ship, and my rules. On the Rising Phoenix ye may be captain and ye can do what you bloody well please there. But not 'ere. On the Pearl, yer just a passenger, and a noisy one too I might add. I've taken yer abuse and insults in good humour 'cause I know yer angry at me and scared for yer brother, but I've 'ad enough! From this moment on you will treat me, me crew and me orders with respect! Remember that this entire venture is a favor to you and at any moment I could just turn around and quit, yer brother be damned. Is this clear?"  
  
Storm was livid, her fists were white and quivered at her sides. Almost her whole body was shaking from pent-up emotion. At last, when she had regained some measure of composure, she spat, "Crystal-clear, /Captain/."  
  
Jack stepped back, lowering the pistol. Without another word, he walked off leaving Storm to lean against the mast and stare icily after him.  
  
Above them, Finn and Sam gazed at the two sadly.  
  
Finn turned to her sister, "We've got to do somethin' about this."  
  
***  
  
Some time later, the Pearl had caught sight of the harbour and was making towards it. Jack stood at the bow, reclining heavily on the rail, hoping faintly that the wind and spray would wash away some of his discomposure.  
  
He hadn't meant to blow up at Storm, it had simply...happened. He felt regret for his actions now. She had just made him so angry, that he'd lost control.  
  
Why did I take the out the pistol? Jack silently rebuked himself. I loved her once, and that's how I treat her? Loved, he reflected, or love?  
  
He sighed and shook his head. He felt so confused, more so than usual. In her own odd way, Storm could be more intoxicating than an entire barrel of rum. In this case, not in a good way.  
  
The ship was rapidly nearing the port, Jack decided he should oversee the crew. As he turned, he was more than a little surprised to see a very uncomfortable-looking Storm standing about two feet away from him.  
  
She smiled weakly, "Ye should count yerself, Cap'n Sparrow. Ye've got powerful allies."  
  
Jack cocked his head, not understanding. Storm explained, "Finn and Sam saw our.." She searched for a word, "argument. It upset them. So they convinced me to come 'ere and apologize." The female pirate paused and looked away nervously. "Which I am tryin' to do, but it's a lot 'arder than it seems."  
  
A smirk pulled at Jack's lips, but it was not unfriendly. It was a smirk of empathy, he could relate to how she felt, "Just say yer sorry."  
  
Storm looked vaguely relieved, "I'm sorry...for calling you a coward, I mean, the punches...well you deserved those, and..."  
  
The captain held up his hand, his eyes twinkling, "Just sorry will do." Storm nodded a faint grin in her own grey eyes. "I'm sorry too," Jack added.  
  
Storm gave an odd little half-bow and winked, "Well, cap'n, I'll see you in Port Royal."  
  
As she marched off she stopped and looked over her shoulder, "And Cap'n..." Jack tilted his head, Storm grinned widely, "I'm still goin' to punch ye."  
  
****  
  
"So who is it we're visitin'?" Storm asked as she, Jack, Anamaria, Finn and Sam hurried along the busy port's streets.  
  
Faye, Nicolas, Gibbs and the rest of the crew had been sent off to buy supplies or get drunk or whatever it was they liked to do when on shore.  
  
Finn and Sam kept disappearing from the rest of the little group, returning several minutes later with bulging pockets, new trinkets and wide smiles. Neither of their parents or Anamaria seemed to mind at all.  
  
Jack didn't bother to answer Storm's question. He merely pointed at a small building and quickened his pace.  
  
The black-haired woman squinted to read the sign hanging above the wooden door.  
  
"William Turner," she murmured, "Blacksmith." Indeed she could hear the sound of a hammer striking steel from inside.  
  
A thought occurred to her, "Is this the same Turner that helped you regain the Pearl?" Storm questioned, as she hastened her stride to match Jack's.  
  
"The very same," he replied happily.  
  
They pushed open the door to see a young man, his short wavy brown hair tied back and his brow slicked with sweat, working away at the forge. Jack bounded down the steps with a joyful cry of "Ahoy there eunuch!"  
  
Storm leaned slightly towards Anamaria, "eunuch..?"  
  
Ana shrugged, "Don't ask."  
  
The young blacksmith twisted around to see who had addressed him so strangely. His light brown eyes lit up when he saw the pirate.  
  
"You daft old swashbuckler!" he cried and crossed the room to embrace his friend.  
  
After the two had bantered for awhile and Will had asked about the Pearl and Jack had asked about Elizabeth, Will turned to the women.  
  
He and Anamaria greeted each other and hugged briefly. Obviously they knew each other fairly well. All throughout this Storm stood, a little on the outside. After all, she hadn't shared their adventures and did not know of what they spoke.  
  
When Will turned his eye on her, she jerked back into the conversation.  
  
She offered her hand, "Storm O'Connor."  
  
The blacksmith smiled, "Will Turner."  
  
He took her hand, but instead of shaking it-as she had intended-he bent and kissed it.  
  
Storm raised an eyebrow and glanced at Jack. Her fellow pirate merely shrugged, most likely Will did this sort of thing all the time.  
  
"Um Mr. Turner," Will rose, his gaze questioning. "Yer quite the gentleman and I commend ye, but it's wasted on the likes o'me. I'm no lady."  
  
He laughed warmly, and clapped Storm on the back, "I am a gentleman to everyone, Miss O'Connor. It does not matter who or what they are."  
  
"It used to," interjected Jack.  
  
Before Will could reply to the friendly jibe, a blonde woman appeared from a room in the back, carrying a baby.  
  
"What's all the excitement out here...Jack!" exclaimed the woman running up and seizing the pirate around the neck, "How long has it been?"  
  
"Too long." Said Jack.  
  
"Hello Ana and...oh who's this?" asked the woman, catching sight of Storm.  
  
"Captain Storm O'Connor of the Rising Phoenix," answered the female pirate, "ye must be Elizabeth...Swann, is it?"  
  
Elizabeth smiled at her husband, "Elizabeth Turner now."  
  
"Ah," Storm nodded sagely, "Does that not bother ye?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Having to change yer name." Clarified Storm, "I never liked the idea. That's why I kept me own name."  
  
Jack wrinkled his forehead in confusion, "Yer married?"  
  
For a long moment Storm just stared at him in disbelief. "Jack," she said at length, "are you /trying/ to be stupid?"  
  
"Eh?"  
  
Storm walked over and placed a hand on each of his shoulders, "Please tell me you remember."  
  
Jack glanced nervously from side to side, "I suddenly...wish...I did."  
  
The female captain sighed heavily, "Jack, we're married."  
  
There was a long pause.  
  
Then from Will, Elizabeth, Anamaria, the twins but most of all Jack, came:  
  
"WHAT?"  
  
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A/N: There it's finally done. I'm sorry this took so long but exams are coming up and I've been really busy. I hope the next one comes faster but I make no promises. Remember to review! It makes me update faster, really! Til next time, Peace. 


	8. Under the table

A/N: EXAMS ARE OVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HUZZAH!!!!!!!!! *does cartwheels around the room while singing "Hallelujah!"* Now I can actually focus on this fic instead of studying history. I mean this is so much more important, after all when am I ever going to need to know about...*checks books* World War Two? Or...*checks books again*...Confederation? Hmmmmm..bad example.  
  
Lol, just kidding. I bet my american readers don't have a bloody clue what I'm talking about anyway, don't worry it's not important..well it..might be..for me...psh I can survive without history...can't I? *Shifty eyes*  
  
Anyway here's the next chapter. I have soooooooo many ideas for this story *grins* I can't wait to write the later chapters! Well anyway I should be focusing on this one, it's going to be very funny. Ah, I love torturing my characters. On to the thanking of reviewers. I got so many this time! *Does little happy dance*  
  
Dreamgirl21147: Mwahahaha don't I feel powerful now! *Laughs manically for a while then stops after noticing that everyone is staring at her funny* ahem.yes..Well thanx for the quick review and don't worry, there will be lots more.  
  
Hummer: Hey! A new reviewer! *huggles* welcome to Storm on the High Seas! And in answer to your question...yes, Jack is drunk most of his life. Lol.  
  
Anaknusan: Another new reviewer!!! *huggles again* Happiness in a bottle, eh? *strokes non-existent goatee* Lol, that's a new one! Oh and thanx for wishing me luck, it was nice to know that someone far away was rooting for me. Anyway, here's a deal, you keep reviewing my fic, and I keep reviewing yours. Do we have an accord?  
  
Random Character: Oh stop your grumbling Random, if it'll make you feel better, I'll write an insane parody sometime and throw you in there. Then you can be a rabid Will fangirl. You might even get to kill Elizabeth if you really want to. Ugh exams. Well actually they were kinda fun, at least all the times we spent /not/ in the exam room...ah Kenzie and his crazy dancing...Hey you still have your french exam on Monday or Tuesday, good luck on that. I'm done! *sticks out tongue* Who's na na naing now? Lol, j/k you know that. Keep reviewing!  
  
Perpetual Masquerade: Although disturbing wasn't exactly what I was going for, I'm glad you liked it *feels proud* Keep reviewing! I love hearing from you!  
  
Jen/Draca: Hee hee hee, cliffies are fun! Plus they annoy you, so that's an added bonus! You and the lion king, I swear you're obsessed! Lol I'LL SAVE YOU SIMBA!! That photo's going to come back to haunt you later, I promise *evil grin*. Ah, memories...  
  
Disclaimer:Grrrrr I hate you disclaimer! YOU KNOW WHAT??? I DO OWN POTC!!!!!!! DAMN STRAIGHT!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! *people in white coats carrying nets start chasing the crazed authoress*  
  
Authoress: Oh cripes! *runs around in circles throwing pinecones at the people with nets* YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!!!! *runs off into the distance still screaming*  
  
Yes..well on with the story.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Jack stared at his ex-lover, hardly able to believe what his ears had told him. Storm, for her part, was chewing her bottom lip, her arms folded across her chest, apparently trying to look in any direction except his. The twins were completely entranced and flabbergasted. This was something they hadn't expected.  
  
Will, Elizabeth and Anamaria, although surprised, could only look on in amusement. The entire situation just seemed entirely too absurd to be real.  
  
It was obvious that Jack was desperately trying to work this new information through his brain. "I married you." He said at last, he didn't sound like he believed it.  
  
"That is correct," replied Storm wearily, still not looking at him.  
  
Jack seemed to be thinking this over, "so that makes you..."  
  
"Yer wife." Storm finished for him.  
  
"And that makes me.."The pirate pointed to himself.  
  
"My husband."  
  
"So that means that we're.." Jack began, pointing first to Storm and then to himself.  
  
Storm sighed and finally looked at him, "A married couple."  
  
Jack nodded thoughtfully for a moment, staring at the floor. After a minute he looked up, his tone was almost apologetic. "It's still not sinking in."  
  
Will leaned towards Elizabeth, "Here's a sight I never thought I'd live to see." He commented.  
  
"The great Jack Sparrow has finally settled down." Joked his wife, a wide grin on her face.  
  
The couple were both shaking with mirth and had to lean on each other for a moment before they had calmed down.  
  
Jack shot his friends a murderous glance. "Captain. It's /Captain/ Jack Sparrow..and I didn't mean to." He added sulkily.  
  
"Oh thanks," said Storm, sarcasm dripping from her words, "I feel /ever/ so loved now."  
  
The pirate whirled back on the female captain. "How did this happen?" His voice sounded pleading.  
  
"If it's any consolation, Jacky, you were roarin' drunk at the time."  
  
"When is he not?" Interjected Will. Elizabeth elbowed him in the ribs, playfully, but hard enough to quiet him.  
  
Storm put a finger to her lips thoughtfully, musing over old half-forgotten memories, "I remember we were in a tavern...."  
  
"That's no help," remarked Jack, "we were always in taverns."  
  
It wasn't meant as a joke, but it caused Will, Elizabeth and Anamaria to snicker. They managed to stifle it before the two pirates noticed.  
  
"Let me finish," snapped Storm. "We had both had a /lot/ of rum and out of the blue ye asked me to marry ye. Since I was almost as pie-eyed as ye were, I answered 'why not?'. We found a priest or an ex-priest..." Storm paused, "or perhaps it was just a drunk who thought he was a priest.." she shrugged, "Whichever it was, we somehow got married regardless. Ye even gave me one of yer rings."  
  
She brandished one of the rings on her left hand. It was silver and on the surface was a beautiful engraving of a sparrow flying in front of a sunset. It matched Jack's tattoo perfectly.  
  
The pirate leaned close and stared at it in amazement, "I wondered where that went."  
  
Suddenly Anamaria burst into gales of laughter, "Ye got married in a tavern, Captain???"  
  
"Well it is fitting," giggled Elizabeth.  
  
Storm ignored the spectators, "Consequently," she mentioned, looking lazily at her nails, "this took place three nights before you left me."  
  
Elizabeth stopped in mid-chuckle, "You abandoned your own wife?!?" she asked incredulously.  
  
Jack held up his hands helplessly, "I didn't know she was my wife!"  
  
For a long moment Storm, Elizabeth and Anamaria simply glared at the hapless pirate captain. Will was still sniggering in the background.  
  
"If looks could kill," muttered Jack under his breath.  
  
Finn spoke up from the sidelines, "Yer in trouble now, dad." She said casually.  
  
Will glanced at the twins, "These are yours, Jack?"  
  
All eyes turned to Finn and Sam, who grinned widely. Elizabeth's expression softened at the sight of the young girls.  
  
"Hello there," she greeted softly, "my name's Elizabeth, what's yours?"  
  
Finn stuck out a hand, "I'm Finndabhair O'Connor and 'ere's me sister and partner in crime Samantha O'Connor."  
  
Elizabeth wasn't at all surprised by Finn's rough pirate accent but she did stare at the two girls in wonder, "Jack," she nearly whispered, "they have your eyes."  
  
"And Storm's hair," said Jack wearily, "I know."  
  
"It's a pleasure to meet you Finndabhair, Samantha," stated Will, "I wish I'd known sooner that our good friend Jack had two such beautiful daughters."  
  
Sam's eyes twinkled, "I'm sure Jack does too."  
  
Before Will and Elizabeth could let that comment sink in, Finn added, "Oh and please call us Finn and Sam. We're all friends now, after all."  
  
"Well Jack," Storm wandered over to stand beside him, "It's unfortunate that ye don't recall yer weddin' day but..." she glanced slyly at him, "it's even more of a shame that ye don't remember the weddin' night." She nodded towards the twins.  
  
Jack's eyes widened considerably and Finn and Sam refocused on their parents banter.  
  
"Ye mean..."He whispered, his eyes flickered from his daughters and back to his newfound wife.  
  
Storm nodded and leaned forward, "How do you think they were conceived?"  
  
"Oh"  
  
As Jack's brain ground to a complete halt at this latest bit of information (he was desperately trying to remember anything of this apparently incredible night), the twins stepped forward.  
  
"So," breathed one-possibly Sam-hopefully, "We're legitimate?"  
  
Storm was taken aback but smiled slowly after a moment, "Yes, I suppose ye are. I never thought of that before."  
  
Finn and Sam were positively beaming. They linked arms and began twirling around the room, spinning insanely fast and singing "we're not bastards, we're not bastards" at the top of their lungs.  
  
Their mother watched for a minute or two, one eyebrow raised in bemusement.  
  
"And just when I thought I'd seen everythin'.." She said, trailing off.  
  
Jack sighed, "I need a drink."  
  
*  
  
Later, when Will had kindly given Jack a bottle of rum to help him through his shock and Storm was given a tour of the house, Finn and Sam had been introduced to Will and Elizabeth's daughter Anna. Who, they had decided, was extraordinarily boring.  
  
"You want us to play with..dolls?" Finn asked in disbelief, staring listlessly at the frilly pink object in her hand.  
  
"Yes!" said Anna brightly, "aren't they simply precious?!"  
  
"Adorable," replied Sam sarcastically. Anna didn't catch the tone.  
  
"If you like," added the girl in that same syrupy-sweet voice, "we could play princess!"  
  
Finn almost paled at this proclamation, she and her sister stared at each other in horror, this couldn't be happening!  
  
Just at that moment, Elizabeth walked into the room, with Storm in tow. The female captain was listening to the other woman natter on about how she and Will had come by the house and the décor with half an ear. She looked incredibly bored.  
  
At the sight of their mother, Finn and Sam scrambled to their feet and ran up to her, gazing at her beseechingly.  
  
"Mumsy," gasped Finn, her voice seeming a little strained, Storm looked at her daughter in confusion "you know that that..thing..you wanted...us to do?"  
  
Storm wrinkled her forehead; it seemed she was considering the possibility that her daughters had gone completely mad.  
  
"In town," added Sam desperately, "You said, on the ship...you wanted us to go into...town to..."  
  
"Get somethin'!" finished her twin, making the tiniest of nods towards Anna.  
  
Their mother followed the indication to see the prissy girl surrounded by dolls, humming and dressing the toys in even more nauseating outfits. "Oooh," said Storm in sudden comprehension, "The thing.." Sam and Finn nodded vigourously, "Well," proclaimed the captain, "we can't have ye girls shirkin' yer responsabilities, so I want ye to march right out there into town and...do...what I told ye."  
  
"Aye!" cried the twins in relief.  
  
"Now, this...thing..is quite the task and it might take ye til sundown, if ye get my meaning.."said Storm pointedly.  
  
Finn and Sam bobbed their heads and grinned. Moments later they were gone, off into town.  
  
**  
  
Jack was drowning himself in rum. At least, that's what it looked like and really, it wasn't that far from the truth.  
  
He'd done some stupid things before while drunk, but never anything quite like this. Getting married??? How much rum had he had that night?!?  
  
Jack took another swig.  
  
***  
  
Finn and Sam bounced along the road, immensely relieved to not be playing "princess" (A/N: I've had to play "princess" with my little cousin Kahlan before. It's a nightmare, trust me). It was a beautiful day and all the merchants were out with their stalls, just waiting to be stolen from.  
  
The twins stopped at one stall, or actually Finn did, Sam hid in a nearby alley and stood watch.  
  
Finn casually looked over the various pieces of jewellery for sale, eyeing several pairs of earrings. One pair was wrought from silver and had been shaped to look like two snakes hanging down, with open jaws showing tiny fangs and minute sapphires for eyes. The price was astronomical.  
  
Forget that, thought Finn to herself. Out of the corner of her eye, she watched the vendor carefully, waiting for the opportune moment. It came when a plump haughty woman began arguing heatedly over the price of a gold necklace. The merchant was completely distracted as he tried to reason with the impatient aristocrat.  
  
In one quick movement, Finn scooped up the earrings-and several rings she fancied-slipped them into a hidden pocket on the back of her waist-sash and sauntered nonchalantly back to her waiting sister.  
  
Once Finn was in the alley, Sam wandered over to where she had been standing at the stall and commenced looking thoughtful. After a moment she pretended to have changed her mind and walked away.  
  
The fuming merchant soon noticed that some of his wares were missing, and seeing Sam ambling down the street, gave chase.  
  
Although she could hear the man running behind her, Sam pretended not to notice. Seconds later she felt a hand descend upon her shoulder, stopping her in her tracks.  
  
"Alright, lass, turn out your pockets."  
  
Sam put on her best "innocent and scared face" turned around and obediently turned her pockets inside-out. (At least the obvious ones, like Finn, Sam had many many secret pockets all over her clothes, all completely hidden.)  
  
Her assailant seemed shocked to see that the only things her pockets held were a few pennies and some morsels of bread. Turning red he bellowed, "Where are they?! Where are the things you stole??!!"  
  
Now it was time for Sam to truly shine. On cue she burst into tears and sobbed, in her best cockney accent "Please sir, (sob) Oi didn't steal nuffink. Don't (sob) tell moi parents! With mumsy (sob) on 'er deathbed, (sob) Oi don't think she could (sob) take it. It would break 'er blessed 'eart!! (sob) Oh please..."  
  
With that Sam completely broke down. She was a good actress and soon the vendor was withering under the glares of the townspeople who thought he was molesting a poor innocent girl.  
  
As this was taking place, Finn-taking advantage of the diversion-snuck back to the stall and stole a number of gold chains. She didn't really like wearing gold but she knew that they would fetch a very nice price later on.  
  
"My mistake," muttered their unfortunate mark, "on your way girl, my apologies."  
  
"Oh thank ye, sir," gasped Sam, inwardly congragulating herself. It was all she could do to keep from laughing. She turned the mirth into more fake sobs.  
  
The merchant made his way back to his stall, leaving Sam to push through the crowd to another backstreet to meet up with her twin.  
  
"Amazing performance, Sam!" cried Finn, once they were together again.  
  
Just when Finn was about to show her sister the spoils of their little adventure, a figure appeared from the shadows, clapping sofly.  
  
It was a boy. A boy with reddish-brown hair and green eyes, dressed in badly patched breeches and shirt. On his head was a strange swept-back cap with a long red feather in it, jauntily tilted to one side. His mouth was upturned in a roguish, grin. He couldn't have been much older than Finn and Sam.  
  
"Tha' was impressive," he commented, his accent was just as rough as theirs. "I can see why ye dress alike."  
  
"And 'oo would ye be, mate?" questioned Finn, always the bolder of the two.  
  
"Oh sorry," apologized the boy, "Me name's Thomas MacGregor, or Tom if ye like." He swept off his hat, "And what would ye lovely lasses be called?"  
  
The twins smiled and glanced at each other, they liked being called lovely lasses.  
  
"Finndabhair (A/N: remember the pronunciation? It's Finn-ah-veer) O'Connor, but ye may call me Finn."  
  
Sam stepped forward, "Samantha O'Connor, but call me Sam."  
  
Finn pushed a lock of black hair out of her face and studied the boy in front of her, "So Thomas MacGregor," she asked, "what is it that ye want?"  
  
Tom bowed low and when he rose his eyes were twinkling. "Well, miladies, I was just talkin' to me friend Gabriel the other day about the quality of our business partners. We know lots of thieves but none with any of the finesse or beauty that you girls possess..."  
  
Sam smiled and crossed her arms, "get to the point MacGregor."  
  
He nodded and grinned, "Ye're straightforward, I like that. Well, I was wondering if you two would like to join me mate and I for a day's fun. We'd share the profits equally and Gabe and meself could even give you a tour of the port. What do ye say?"  
  
For a brief moment Finn and Sam consulted each other while Tom waited patiently.  
  
At last Finn looked up at him with a wide, lopsided grin, "Throw in dinner and it's a date."  
  
****  
  
Storm wandered into the small dining room of the Turner's house. There was Jack, seated at the table, bottles strewn haphazardly around him. She leaned in the doorway, watching him drink himself into oblivion.  
  
When he caught sight of her, she smirked, "Trying to recreate your wedding day?" She jibed.  
  
The pirate sighed, "I still can't believe it."  
  
Storm padded up to him and leaned her elbows on the table, leveling her gaze with Jack's, "What's to believe?"  
  
"Well for one thing," blurted Jack, "I can't really keep livin' the way I'm used to, can I?"  
  
Storm burst out laughing, "Jack," she said once she'd calmed down, "ye've been married to me for twelve years! Has it really affected the way ye behave?"  
  
"No.."Jack admitted, "but I didn't know I was married!"  
  
"I knew, do you think it changed my behaviour at all? You know me well enough, Jack."  
  
The female captain slid into a chair beside him, "Our marriage is meaningless, it was a stupid thing we did while sozzled out of our minds."  
  
Jack thought this over, "but it still happened." He said at last.  
  
Storm raised one eyebrow, "Let's go over this shall we. There are two parts to marriage," she held up two fingers, "The religious and the legal. One: yer an athiest and I'm an agnostic, I doubt very highly that God-if he exists-gives a damn about our lives. This takes care of the religious aspect. Two: we never bought a marriage licence or had our wedding recorded so I don't think the law is a factor. Besides, when have you cared about the legal aspect in anything?"  
  
Jack chuckled, "ye've got a point O'Connor."  
  
He stared absently at the bottle of rum in his hand. After a moment he gave Storm a sly, sidelong glance, "I bet I can still drink ye under the table."  
  
Eyes narrowed, Storm picked up one of the bottles, opened it and drained half of it in one gulp. With a wink she replied, "Yer on."  
  
*****  
  
It turned out that Thomas MacGregor had once been the son of a powerful- though now deceased-pirate captain, and Gabriel was the son of one of Captain MacGregor's crew.  
  
"What 'appened to them?" asked Sam as she, Finn, Tom and Tom's friend Gabriel walked along the crowded street, occasionally picking pockets or robbing unattended stalls.  
  
"Got 'anged," answered Tom, deftly stealing a few coins out of an aristocrat's purse and throwing them into a blind beggar's cup. "In this port actually."  
  
Finn was shocked, "then why do ye stay 'ere?"  
  
He shrugged, "got nowhere else to go."  
  
" 'E and I have tried getting' jobs as cabin-boys," added Gabriel, "but no one wants to 'ire some pirate's brats, as they call us."  
  
"Ugh, those navy bastards!" Growled Finn.  
  
"So 'ow long 'ave ye been on the streets?" asked Tom.  
  
Finn and Sam looked at each other, "We 'aven't," they replied in unison.  
  
They proceeded to tell the boys about their parents, their uncle and their whole adventure. Tom and Gabe looked impressed to hear about their heritage.  
  
"Yer parents are Captain Jack Sparrow and Storm O'Connor?" Tom whistled, "Not bad."  
  
The twins smiled proudly as they stole a few apples off a sleeping vendor's cart.  
  
"Yer lucky, ye know," added Gabriel, "To 'ave two such powerful parents /and/ that they're both still free and alive."  
  
"We know," said Sam, glancing at her sister, "we know."  
  
****  
  
Two hours later Jack and Storm were completely hammered. However, despite the loss of brain cells or perhaps because of the loss of brain cells, neither would admit defeat. Although the conversation was becoming increasingly bizarre.  
  
"Why is it," slurred Storm, "that we call potatos, potatos? I mean, do they even have toes?"  
  
Jack was having a hard time focusing, forcing him to squint at the female pirate sitting beside him, "What about tomatos?"  
  
Storm scowled and slammed a fist down on the table surface, "Don't even get me started on the tomatos." Her eyes crossed, "Stop that Jack, there's two of ye.  
  
Jack smirked triumphantly and pointed a finger at Storm, "You, yer yer...yer drunk, love." He stuttered.  
  
Storm winked at pointed at her head, "Drunk like a fox!"  
  
As Jack was trying to work this peculiar statement through his mind he abruptly and unceremoniously slid off his chair and under the table.  
  
"Ha!" cried Storm victoriously, "I knew I could outdrink ye, ye pretentious bastard!"  
  
"Do ye even know what pretentious means?" came Jack's voice from somewhere around Storm's feet.  
  
"I did once," replied Storm thoughtfully. Out of nowhere she burst into giggles, "Heh heh, pretentious. Whooooo!" This last exclamation came as Storm slipped off her own chair.  
  
After that everything became a blur.  
  
**  
  
It was long past sundown when Finn and Sam returned. They were a bit giddy from their day. After Thomas and Gabriel had shown them a buyer for their spoils of the day they had built a fire and celebrated with a tasty stolen dinner of bread, cheese, apples and a bottle of rum.  
  
Thomas had played the fiddle and Finn and Sam had accompanied him with their voices, singing many irish ditties that their mother had taught them.  
  
/Cause it's no nay never,  
  
No nay never no more!  
  
I will be a wild rover,  
  
Nay never no mooooore!/  
  
The four sang as they walked back, Tom and Gabe had insisted on escorting them.  
  
When they reached the Turner's house, they felt a little saddened, this could be the last time that they ever saw each other. Who knew when Finn and Sam would be in Port Royal again.  
  
One by one they embraced each other, whispering "Good luck!"  
  
"Don't worry," said Finn as she hugged Tom, "We'll be back someday."  
  
"I know ye will be."  
  
*  
  
The next morning Storm woke in a strange bed, half-dressed with a completely blank memory of the night before. Not a strange occurrence for her, really. Neither was the sensation of an arm draped possessively over her hips.  
  
Just another day in the life of Captain Storm O'Connor.  
  
She stretched luxuriously and rolled over to meet her latest bedmate. Her jaw nearly dropped when she saw the kohl-lined eyes, dreadlocks and sparrow tattoo.  
  
"Good morning, love." Greeted Jack with a wink.  
  
"Oh, shit."  
  
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A/N: Heh heh heh, bet you didn't see that coming..or maybe you did. Meh. Oh and just for the record Storm isn't a whore, she's just...liberated. She doesn't sleep with every guy she meets just when she gets drunk...things..you know, happen.  
  
Anyway, I was kind of hoping to write a more detailed version of Finn and Sam's day but this chapter was getting seriously long so I decided against it. Maybe I'll add something in later.  
  
Well, I'm out for another week, don't forget to REVIEW or I send Jack the monkey after you! Mwahahahaha *spots men in white coats* OH CRAP!!! I thought I got rid of those guys!!!! *runs off into the next chapter* 


	9. Good morning, then again, perhaps not

A/N: Oh god people I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long! But y'know I do have good reasons, currently I'm writing 12 plus stories, either on websites or just in my notebooks. For the past couple of weeks I've been working on an original story for fictionpress (I'm still not done). Anyway the point is sometimes I get a bit confused on what is happening in which story. *Blushes*   
  
Also I'm just a wee bit disappointed in some of you. A month people! A month and I only got 4 reviews. That is pathetic *sulks*. That's why I updated my angst fic before this one :P. *sighs* oh well, I still feel guilty about not updating so you get this chapter.   
  
I'm now going to thank my reviewers, few as they may be :P.   
  
Anaknusan: Hey there :D! I'm glad you like this story so much! It makes me feel proudness inside. So ye've accepted me proposal, eh? Excellent! I mean, Huzzah! Say I'm curious, where does your name come from?? Just wondering......anyway, keep the reviews coming! It's always a pleasure hearing from you.   
  
Random Character: I'll drunk your fox! *Shakes fist manacingly*. Lmao! Ah we are sooooooo stupid. You and the stupid dodger! I swear you're on crack *shakes head*. I can't believe how short this review was, (compared to your other ones) do I mean that little to you? *Sobs uncontrollably*. Well, I'll forgive you if your next review is long :P. ttyl.   
  
Dreamgirl21147: That was......short. Ah well, at least you bothered, so here's some more for you.   
  
Jen/Draca: Damn straight she's liberated! God that was a fun weekend! *grins* Now you see it, now you don't etc. (for people who aren't Jen, don't even bother to try to understand what I'm talking about). Tobias and Delilah go to Egypt!!! Roflmao!!! Anyway, here's another chappie. Enjoy!   
  
Dragonflygirl804: Yay! *Huggles* A new reviewer! Thanx for the encouragement! You saw the bed thing coming, eh? Well you're in for a bit of a surprise in this chapter. Keep up the reviews. Thanx a bunch.   
  
Disclaimer: Yadda yadda yadda, you know what goes here, just use your imagination. ~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!~!   
  
Storm uttered a stream of violent-and creative-curses, some aimed at Jack, some at rum and some at the world in general. It really didn't matter.   
  
Jack clicked his tongue in disapproval, "Now, now Storm, that's hardly pleasant pillow talk."   
  
The female captain shot him a glare that would have turned him to stone if Jack had been at all self-conscious. Instead the pirate just leaned back and smiled smugly.   
  
Storm groaned and rubbed her temples-her head was pounding....and she was in bed with a man she'd been wanting to kill for the past twelve years. Storm was beginning to think that perhaps having a drinking contest with Jack Sparrow wasn't the smartest idea she's ever had.   
  
"Bloody-thrice-damned-son-of-a-bilge-rat!"   
  
"That's not very nice."   
  
"Oh do shut up, Sparrow." Storm snapped angrily.   
  
Jack smiled indulgingly and settled back against the pillows, his hands behind his head. He was the absolute picture of relaxation.   
  
"Knew I'd get ye in bed again."   
  
SMACK   
  
Seconds later Jack was rubbing his stinging cheek and wincing from the pain. For once, Storm had forgotten that she was a punching woman not a slapping woman.....well not entirely.   
  
The punch followed soon after.....followed by another slap.....on the other cheek.   
  
The female pirate bolted down the stairs at top speed, desperately trying to ignore the waves of nausea induced by her hangover.   
  
As she burst into the kitchen Will and Elizabeth glanced up in surprise though Will looked away a split-second later, blushing a deep crimson to his ears. Storm's eyes flicked down and immediately understood his embarrassment (and she would have been amused if she hadn't been furious). She was clad only in a thin chemise which, in all honesty, didn't leave much to the imagination. Little wonder little proper eunuch boy couldn't look at her. However that wasn't the present issue.   
  
With a shaky breath Storm began jabbering at the couple, "Last night.....me 'n Jack......did anyone see......I mean what was I......did we...."   
  
Elizabeth-and even Will by now-was staring at her in utter confusion.   
  
"Did I......with Jack.....was I.....WHAT WAS I DOING IN BED WITH JACK SPARROW????" Storm yelled at last, shaking with pent up emotion.   
  
"Huh? Ooooh." Will said sheepishly, in sudden comprehension. "I'm sorry, Storm, but last night I found you well....." he trailed off, no doubt trying to find a polite way of saying whatever he wanted to say.   
  
"Found me what?"   
  
"Ummm, unconscious.....both of you. I couldn't just leave you there, so I carried you and Jack to your room but we only have one extra bed, and you said you were married.....I didn't think it would be a problem....."   
  
Storm stared blankly at the hapless blacksmith for several minutes. After some very awkward time, she began to chuckle. She shook her head and glanced up at the ceiling, "Didn't think it would be a problem....." Quietly she walked up to Will and rested an arm on his shoulder,   
  
"Ye know Will," she said lazily, looking at her fingernails, "I'm sure yer a very nice boy and I'm sure that years from this day I shall look back on this morning and laugh til me ears turn blue......but," she flashed him a pointed look and her lighthearted tone turned soft and dangerous, "at the moment yer a /very/ /very/ lucky man that I don't 'ave a pistol in me hands."   
  
With that unnerving comment she stalked out of the room, stopping only to kick Jack as he wandered, swaying slightly, into the kitchen. There was still a bright-red handprint on each cheek where Storm had struck him.   
  
"Umm that's quite the wife you have there Jack," Elizabeth ventured, "I'm sure she keeps life from becoming too.....ordinary."   
  
Jack rolled his eyes, "Ye've no idea."   
*   
  
Through some miracle The Black Pearl managed to re-embark with only minimum confusion and bloodshed (Gibbs dropped a barrel on his foot, and one of the pirates' nose started bleeding after he got punched in the face by Anamaria, who gave no reason besides he was a wanker. Jack decided to leave it at that).   
  
Will and Elizabeth bid their guests good-bye with a mixture of sadness and relief. Storm, all-smiles again now that her hangover had worn off, gave each of them a hug and a hearty clap on the back. Slightly off-guard, the couple tentatively returned the embrace. Jack, once again drunk, joined in but was carried onto the ship moments later when he fell asleep on his feet.   
  
Finn and Sam, who had just returned from cheering on Anamaria during the short-lived fist-fight, were surprised to be stopped by Will and Elizabeth's daughter Anna.   
  
The little girl, dressed in what seemed to be about ninety layers of pink, ribbons and lace was holding out one of her dolls solemnly.   
  
"I want you to have it," she said seriously, "so you can play princess on your big boat."   
  
Finn was about to make some sort of retort to this statement when Sam subtly kicked her shin. "Thank you," said Sam kindly, taking the doll gingerly in one hand and flashing a wide smile, "that's very sweet of you."   
  
Anna nodded and ran off to her mother's side.   
  
Sam's sister looked at her in disbelief, "You actually want that, that.....thing?" Finn cried.   
  
Sam shrugged, "a gift's a gift," she said looking at the doll, "Besides, it's well-made, we can always sell it."   
  
Finn relaxed and sighed in relief, "now yer makin' sense. You scared me for a second."   
  
Her twin rolled her eyes.   
**   
  
The next week passed uneventfully, as did the next. The crew adjusted rapidly to having two constantly feuding captains. And really over time, Storm and Jack didn't fight quite so often. They even challenged each other to a few more drinking contests. Storm won two times out of three. Every time.  
  
It was midday when Storm was standing on deck, watching her daughters' antics. Jack was giving them a fighting lesson but it seemed that the two girls were as, if not more, advanced than he was. Finn and Sam were fond of fighting using a sword and dagger and attack at the same time. It was all Jack could do to keep his blade from getting entangled and fend off their various attacks.  
  
At one point Finn surreptitiously slipped her foot behind her father's ankle. Sam, catching a silent signal from her sister, doubled her efforts, succeeding in pushing Jack backwards. With a thud, the pirate captain fell to deck, just as his daughters jumped on his chest and legs, pinning him to the boards.  
  
Their mother chuckled and waved to the cheering Finn and Sam.  
  
She was just about to join the trio and give Jack a good mocking when she heard a loud excited cry from the crow's nest.  
  
"Land ho!"  
  
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A/N: Once again I apologize for this seriously late chapter and I wish it could be longer but I'm just trying to get back into the story. However if you give me lots of reviews then the next chappie will be really long! Really.....would I lie to you? *shifty eyes* 


	10. Chasing the Horizon

A/N: It's getting worse isn't it? sighs I'm really sorry guys but I kind of lost interest in this story for a while. I still know where it's going but it's taking soooo long to get there :P.  
  
Also I spent the last couple of weeks writing a one-shot for another category and when I was finished I didn't really feel like writing. I've been rehearsing for a play, going to movies and sleepovers with my friends, writing my novel and, now that the end of the school year is coming up, working on school projects. That's the problem with having a life :P.  
  
Anyway I'm back, this chapter will probably be too short for your collective liking but at least I'm trying again.  
  
JenDraca: looks guilty I guess I really didn't update faster did I? You're probably going to kick my arse now...grimaces at idea of future beating I'm a dead woman...  
  
Dreamgirl21147: winks Yes, her name really fits her personality doesn't it? I'm glad you liked that chapter despite the shortness. Here's some more, I hope you don't mind its horrible lateness.  
  
Dragonflygirl804: I'm happy that the chapter made you laugh :D. This one is slightly darker though... (I guess I'm just in an angsty mood :P). Keep reviewing!  
  
RandomCharacter: Boo! :D...poor Lindsey...so sick... patpat. I read your new chapter! And I reviewed so that's where all my rambling is. I'm too lazy to ramble twice so I shall just continue.  
  
Anaknusan: Yay Egypt!!!!! I adore Ancient Egyptian stuff . Good to know that someone else shares my obsession :D. Poor stupid Will shakes head he just doesn't know how to deal with women like Storm. Lol. Please keep reviewing! I love hearing from you!  
  
Disclaimer: Not even going to bother.

!!!!!!!!!!

Storm ran at top speed along the deck, jumping nimbly over buckets, ropes, beams and, occasionally, crewmen. When she had reached the bow, she gazed out beyond the spray and crashing waves to the horizen, trying to see the land that the boy in the crow's nest was still happily yelling about.  
  
There, in the left side of her field of vision was a spot darker and definitely more solid then the rest of the seascape.  
  
There it was. She'd made it.  
  
Behind her, Storm could hear the soft quick pounding of her daughters' footsteps on the deck and Jack's faint cursing as he tripped over a bucket. A moment later, Finn and Sam were standing next to her and were scanning the sea in the same manner as their mother.  
  
For a long moment the three were frozen like that, then, in what seemed a quantum leap, the small family were whooping with joy and embracing each other fiercely. Jack stood a few feet away from them. His wife and daughters. He felt strange, on the outside looking in. They were so close, so happy in each other's company and he was acutely reminded that he was not-and probably never would be-a real part of their lives. He just happened to be convenient.  
  
Storm was kneeling on the deck each of her arms encircling one of the twins. Their eyes were closed and Finn and Sam were each leaning on one of their mother's shoulders.  
  
Slowly, as though becoming aware of his presence, Sam opened her eyes. She watched him stand awkwardly for a minute or two. Then she smiled and carefully disengaged herself from her mother's arm. She walked over to her father and hugged him tightly around the waist. Jack paused slightly, almost unsure of how to react. But he soon overcame his hesitation and wrapped his own arms around his dark-haired daughter.  
  
It was then, as he was holding Sam that he became aware of Storm looking at him. He was surprised at her expression. She seemed......pleased. A happy, satisfied smile playing about her lips. Perhaps for a moment, as they each embraced one of their children, she had forgiven him.

!

"Storm!" Jack called after his unlikely wife's retreating back, "Storm!" he cried even louder.  
  
The female pirate merely hurried up the stairs to the helm. She was carrying a map and was busily explaining the best course to set and where the ship should most likely make berth when they landed. Anamaria nodded at all of her instructions and adjusted the ship's wheel accordingly.  
  
"STORM!!" The frustrated captain hollered at the top of his lungs.  
  
Storm continued ignoring him, pretending to be too involved in her discussion to pay him any mind.  
  
It was only when Jack was standing next to her and grasped her shoulder that she turned her head lazily towards him.  
  
"What were ye drinkin' when drew this map?" he asked, waving a piece of yellowed parchment. "I can't make 'eads or tails of it!"  
  
The female captain's eyes flicked towards the offending map and back to Jack's face. Her face remained passive as she shrugged. "It's a false map," she replied.  
  
Jack stared at her incredulously, "A false map? Ye gave me false maps? No wonder I haven't understood the directions ye've been giving the helmsman!"  
  
Anamaria gave an angry cough.  
  
"Helmswoman," Jack corrected absently but continued glaring at Storm. "What am I supposed to do with false maps? I don't even know where I am!"  
  
Storm smirked. "Well Jack," she drawled, "the island we're currently heading to is on that map...it's just not the one that's marked."  
  
Jack glanced at the document and back to his wife. "Then where is it?" he demanded.  
  
"Well, I do have a system that I could explain to ye..." she paused, "but I don't feel like it."  
  
Storm straightened her bandana, nodded at Anamaria-who nodded back-and with that she left an exasperated Jack standing there, to go seek out Faye and Nicolas.  
  
Jack stared at her as she left, unsure of how to react to this display of insubordination. He started when he heard Anamaria chuckling under her breath. Adjusting his sash, Jack shot the woman a fierce glare.  
  
"Oh shut up, Ana." He spat and he stormed off to his cabin. He needed another drink.

!!

Storm pored over her maps, memorizing every inch of the island they were steadily nearing. She took into acount every defensible area, every landmark, and each strategic position. For a moment, the pirate queen felt a twinge of doubt. Perhaps she should tell Jack the whole truth, she thought, give him fair warning. He should know about the possible dangers she was leading him into.  
  
Storm felt an uncomfortable pang of guilt. He had been quite fair...and she'd never expected to receive help from this quarter...Maybe she should tell him everything....  
  
The pirate scowled and brushed away a few stray braids. Storm O'Connor hated doubt. She snorted softly, she owed Jack Sparrow nothing. She would tell him when the time came and only when the time came. Unless, of course, he figured it out himself.  
  
"So," the captain said, looking up at her two most trusted companions, "When do ye think we'll reach the island?"  
  
Nicolas leaned back leisurely and toyed absently with a dagger. He looked inattentive and dreamy but Storm knew that that was when he was weighing all possible factors and was truly considering her question. She trusted his opinion because of this.  
  
"I'm guessin'...sunrise tomorrow." He answered at last.  
  
Faye, who was on the other side of the small cabin, leaning against the door, nodded her assent. "So I suppose this makes this night the 'calm before the Storm'." She winked at her captain.  
  
Storm chuckled softly at the pun, "I suppose it does..." she replied thoughtfully.  
  
"Well," the female captain stated briskly, rising to her feet. "We might as well enjoy ourselves before all hell breaks loose." She paused at the door, "Ye know what to do tomorrow I expect?"  
  
Her crewmembers nodded soberly.  
  
"Good. Ye're dismissed. Do as you wish for the rest of the day." She grinned widely and winked, "I'll see ye both tonight."  
  
Faye and Nicolas grinned back as their captain slipped out the door.

!!!

Finn and Sam scurried quickly away from their position near the cabin door where they'd been eavesdropping. They watched in frozen silence as their mother nimbly climbed the steps up to the deck. As soon as Storm was out of sight, Sam turned to her sister.  
  
_Uh oh_, thought the wiser of the twins, seeing her sister's wicked grin, _this never bodes well_.  
  
"What's in yer head, Finn?" asked Sam, with some trepidation.  
  
"I have a plan."  
  
A/N: I know, I know, it's very short and I was meaning to write more but this is a pretty good start considering I haven't updated this story since March. Pleeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaassssssseee review!! I will try to continue this soon. As soon as school's out (which is in two weeks! Woohoo!!!) I will have a lot of time to devote to writing. Now press that little purple button and tell me what you think!


	11. Plan Full of Holes

A/N: WOOHOO!!!!! I have returned from my long sojourn in Holland! And I have returned with….(drumroll) A NEW CHAPTER!! Aren't you all proud of me? I wrote it on planes and trains and while visiting my Oma and other relatives. It's long too! :D:D…at least, it is in my notebook, so we'll just wait and see how long it is typed.

Review responses are at the bottom

Disclaimer: blah blah blah, freckled raven owns nothing…blah blah blah…oh just die, will you? Bloody disclaimer.

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Sam had an intense desire to rub her temples. That seemed far too precocious of her though, so she settled for scratching the back of her neck and sighing.

"This doesn't, perchance, involve any fireworks or noserings does it?" she asked warily.

"Huh?" said Finn.

Sam gave her sister a pointed look.

"Oh, right…that." Said Finn sheepishly with a look that said 'god damn it, I was hoping you'd forgotten that.'

"There were those explosions…" she said, nose wrinkled in thought.

"And Captain MacAllan's pet magpie…" Sam continued for her.

"Ah, yes…" Finn scrunched up her face, "The rest of that evening is something I'd like to forget." She caught her twin's dubious expression, "But that was just poor planning!" she hastened to explain.

"Uh huh," replied Sam skeptically, "planning done by _you._"

"Alright, alright," Finn snapped. "The less we say about The Incident, the better. This plan will be better!...Really! Trust me!"

_This does not bode well,_ thought Sam. Whenever Finn used the words 'trust me' it was definitely an evil omen. Something was sure to go wrong.

Finn plunged on regardless, ignoring Sam's nervous expression. "You know how Mum and Dad get along better when they're drinking?"

Sam groaned. "I can see where this is going," she mumbled.

Once again, Finn ignored her. "All we need to do is get them drunk again!"

Her twin stared at her for a moment. When it was obvious that Finn's idiotic grin wouldn't melt under her baleful gaze, she spoke.

"You. Are. Daft! Do you have any idea how many ways that could-no will-go wrong? For one, when Mumsy wakes up, she's going to have a headache and a killing spree!"

Finn kept grinning. "Yes, perhaps," she replied cheerfully, "but we've got nothing to lose and there'll be nothing to connect us to it. Hey, who knows? Maybe we'll be lucky this time."

Sam opened her mouth to speak but Finn cut her off.

"You're going to cave anyway."

"Hey! How do you-"

"You always do. Now, shall we shake on it?" Finn held out her left hand.

She was right. Sam could already feel herself giving in.

_God bloody damn it._

Sam extended her own hand, then pulled back, eyes narrowed. "Any fireworks?"

Finn chuckled, then, seeing her sister's mutinous expression, she quickly replied, "No, no fireworks."

"You swear?"

"I swear."

They shook. Left hands always, the hands of rogues.

!

Jack was confused. Well, not so much confused as perplexed. In fact, it wasn't even perplexed. There was just something niggling at the back of his mind. He knew that somewhere, in his subconscious, some part of his mind was trying to tell him something important. The only problem was that understanding this message was like trying to understand someone speaking in swedish with a scottish accent.

"Something is rotten in the state of Denmark," the captain muttered to himself.

"Aye, sir," replied Gibbs from beside Jack, as he tightened the ropes, "but we're not _in_ Denmark are we?"

"It's Shakespeare, Gibbs," said Jack, staring out to sea, "Henry the VIII."

Gibbs didn't look up from his work, "Hamlet, sir."

There was a moment's pause.

"What was that, mate?"

"I said; it's from 'Hamlet', sir."

"What is?"

"The line, sir."

"What line?"

Gibbs gave up. There was no way to convince Jack that he'd been wrong about something. He had a very selective memory. The sailor finished his task and moved on to the next, leaving his captain to his muddled thoughts.

Something was simply off, and when there was something off it probably had something to do with Storm. She just had that effect on the world around her. A minute or two later, Jack found himself looking for his bizarre wife. Perhaps if he confronted her about the offness in his mind (most likely caused by her), then maybe he could enjoy his rum in peace.

After a great deal of searching, he finally spotted the elusive Storm under the staircase near his cabin. She was lounging in the shade, sitting on some empty sacs, with the ships' cat, Whiskey, purring at her feet. There was a bottle of rum on a crate beside her and in her hands was a sketchbook in which she was busily drawing. She looked up at Jack as he stepped into her niche, and grinned widely at him.

"Welcome to me hole, Cap'n! Take a seat." She motioned to one of the unoccupied crates around her.

With some discretion, Storm closed her book before Jack could see what she'd been drawing. She leaned heavily on her elbows, chin in one palm.

"Can I see you in me cabin, O'Connor?"

Storm raised her eyebrows with a look that passed for innocent. "I don't know, Cap'n, can ye?"

Storm laid aside her sketchbook and crawled forward a bit so that she could peer through the open door of his quarters.

"No, Cap'n," she said after a moment, "Doesn't look like I'm in there."

Jack rolled his eyes, "Fine, Miss Grammar. _May_ I see you in me cabin?" He asked in syrupy-sweet tones.

"That ye may," Storm replied cheerfully. She gathered up her rum and sketchbook, petted Whiskey-who meowed plaintively at her departure-and rose in one nearly-graceful movement.

Once inside his cabin, she kicked off her boots and settled herself on his bed. Jack did his best to ignore this affront to his authority. Instead, he moved to stand beside her.

She was looking up at him with an innocently expectant expression on her face, which was obviously completely fake. She most likely knew what it was that was bothering him and they both knew that she was never innocent…of anything.

"Could-may I have a piece of paper?" Jack asked, motioning to the sketchbook in her hand.

Storm quirked an eyebrow at the odd request but she wordlessly complied. She pulled out a piece of creamy white parchment and handed it to him, along with the bit of charcoal she used to draw.

Jack thanked her, then walked over to his desk. He pushed aside the messy pile of maps and seacharts and gestured at Storm to join him.

Her expression wary, the female captain moved to stand beside Jack and flashed him a questioning glance. He merely shook his head and began to draw on the parchment.

First he sketched a crude stick figure wearing a skirt.

"This is you," Jack proclaimed and he wrote 'Storm' beside it.

"I don't wear a skirt."

"What?"

"I said; I don't wear a skirt. Therefore _that_," Storm pointed derisively to the figure, "is not me."

"Well, 'ow else do I make it look female?"

Storm shrugged. "I don't know. Give it breasts?"

Jack raised an eyebrow slightly but he obliged, by scratching out the offending skirt and drawing two circles on the upper part of the stick figure.

As he did so, Storm muttered, "Besides, any man can wear a dress." (A/N: And nowadays they can!)

Jack ignored her remark; he was becoming quite adept at doing this. He drew another stick person. This one was, apparently, male (from the lack of breasts). It was obvious that the figure was unhappy judging from his upside-down U for a mouth.

Jack pointed to it, "This is Storm's brother, James." He labelled it. "Now, James is in trouble with the Navy."

Jack drew a noose around James' neck. Storm seemed to twitch angrily at this, but she said nothing.

Jack continued, "Storm wants to save her brother." He put a sword in her hand and a sailboat underneath her. As an afterthought, he wrote 'The Black Pearl' on the side of the bo-ship.

"However," said Jack, his voice had gained a somewhat sarcastic edge, "She seems to be goin' in the wrong direction."

The pirate drew an arrow pointing in the opposite direction of 'James'.

_Uh oh_, said Storm's brain to itself, _here it comes_.

Jack added an 'island' to the picture (meaning a bump with reasonable facsimiles of palm trees on the top).

"It seems," (yep, there was Mr. Sarcasm), "that she is headin' for a treasure island, where she knows that a fleet of wicked privateers are waitin' for her."

The island was then surrounded by a horde of generic stick figures carrying muskets and swords. They might have been menacing if they hadn't been, well, sticks.

Jack turned to Storm, who had watched this unfolding stick drama impassively. She didn't meet his eyes, but continued staring at the parchment.

"So, Storm," said Jack in a mock conversational tone, "Ye've always been the artistic one. Tell me, what is wrong with this picture?"

For a moment there was silence between them. Then, Storm shrugged nonchalantly and spoke as lazily and uncaringly as possible.

"Well, Jack, they are only line drawings. I think ye just need to work on yer technique."

Jack sighed in frustration. "Storm, I don't know what yer plan is, but whatever it is, it doesn't make sense!" his voice had progressively risen. "We're headin' in the bloody wrong direction! Your brother is probably already dead," Storm winced at this, "but here we are, traipsin' off to his 'rescue' and into the hands of some pissed-off privateers! What the hell are we doing?"

The female captain looked very uncomfortable. She fidgeted slightly and tried to meet Jack's gaze. She couldn't manage it though and turned away to face the window.

The warring expressions on her face conveyed that she wanted to sigh, curse, and maybe sink through the floor all at once. Instead, she ran one hand absently through her braids. Several times, it seemed as if she would speak, but she always shut her mouth quickly.

Finally, after a long silence, Storm found words.

"Ye, of all people, should understand revenge," Storm said quietly, still facing away from Jack.

To Jack, understanding came like a slap in the face.

"So that's what this is about…"

Storm nodded.

"And ye didn't tell me because of the danger to me crew and me ship. Am I right?"

A pause, then another nod.

"I see…" Jack started for the door.

Storm turned swiftly towards him. "What are ye doing?"

Jack's hand was on the door handle. "I'm turnin' me ship around," he called over his shoulder.

"No!"

The sheer vehemence of this outburst surprised Jack long enough for Storm to cross the room. She seized his shoulder roughly in one hand and spun him around to face her.

"Ye can't."

Her voice was quiet. That was surprising, thought Jack. He'd been expecting a tirade.

"Yes, I can," he replied, "and I will. Right now, me crew-and me ship-are in unnecessary danger. That's reason enough for me."

"But we've come so far!" Storm looked desperate. "We can't turn back now!"

"Do ye even realize what ye're askin' me to do? Ye're demanding that I put everythin' on the line for you!"

"I'd have done the same for you! In fact, I have!"

"Please, Storm, think clearly for a moment. What do you possibly have to gain from all this?"

Her answer was swift and final. "Vengeance."

Jack rubbed his forehead. "What good is that? It'll only bring ye trouble and ye'll have nothin' to show for it."

Storm's eyes narrowed. "Ah yes," she spat, "I forgot this matter isn't about somethin' as important as a ship. After all, all that's been taken from me was my brother. Why didn't I realize?"

"Now, Storm…" Jack began cautiously.

"Don't ye 'now, Storm' me! Do ye have _any_ idea what it's like to lose somebody so close? All ye've ever lost is a ship. Ships can be bought or built. People can't. You don't know…you don't…" Storm trailed off, having run out of steam.

For a moment, Jack's resolve wavered. She looked so small, so defeated. Her shoulders were slumped. She looked like a forgotten string puppet, hung on a wall; her whole body limp yet still held upright. She didn't cry, she never did, but she was the absolute picture of sorrow and dejection. It made Jack want to comfort her…or something.

The only problem with that plan was that Storm would probably kick his head or knee him in the bollocks for such a condescending action.

Instead, Jack pulled a small flask of rum out of his sleeve (he had them strapped all over his body. You never knew…) and wordlessly handed it to her. Storm's blue-grey eyes flicked to it, then to his face and back to the flask. She made an almost imperceptible shrug and snatched it out of Jack's hand. She downed its' contents in three gulps, shaking her head afterwards to clear the fog. After the rum was in her system Storm seemed to stand a little taller and she definitely appeared calmer.

Rum was a pirate's only comfort. That and whores. (Though in Storm's case, it was probably just the former).

Storm raised a calloused hand to Jack's cheek. The tiny gesture seemed to transport the two of them-for a fraction of a second-to when they'd been young and still lovers. It was just a flash, over in a heartbeat, but they both felt it. And it was a landslide.

"Please, Jack," Storm said softly, her voice quietly entreating, "I know who it was that ordered me brother's death. He's waitin' fer me…at the island. I know it. He's all I want, the last business I have to take care of."

She let her hand drop, but she kept her gaze locked with his. "Jack…ye've done nothin' fer me in twelve years. Just…just do this one thing fer me now and if it's what you want our paths will never meet again, just please…don't turn this ship around."

Jack studied her for a long time and she resolutely stared right back at him.

All of a sudden, as though by its own accord, the memory of their first meeting appeared in his mind. At the time, he'd been only sixteen and just a minor crewmember on the Pearl. He'd gotten into trouble with the law (thus starting a long-lasting tradition). Storm, a spritely girl his own age, had sprung him using feminine wiles and a cleverly placed knife.

_"I guess I owe you, don't I?"_

_"Damn right you do. I almost had to kiss a guard!"_

_"How's about a drink?"_

_"You'll have to do better than that."_

_"What's better than a drink?"_

_"Gah! Fine. For now. But here's a deal, everytime I do something for you, you have to do something for me…whatever I ask. And vice versa."_

_"Erm…alrighty. What do you want right now?"_

_"A drink."_

_"Storm O'Connor, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."_

It was not the last time she rescued him.

"I guess this one of those times," Jack mused to himself, semi-lost in memories.

Storm cocked her head to one side. Hope flared in her belly. "Hmmm?"

Jack heaved the great sigh of one who is aware that they're making a mistake they'll soon regret. "I'll take ye to the island."

An intensely relieved smile pulled at Storm's lips.

"But…" added Jack.

"But?"

"But I'm going to warn me crew."

Storm nodded. "Fair enough." Inside she was quite grateful for this. An informed crew would be much more useful.

In the next second, Jack was out the cabin door, already shouting.

"Alright, ye scurvy bilgerats! On deck, all of you!" There was a slight pause. "Of course, except for those of you whose job it is to keep the ship from sinking!"

"That's all of us, sir!" called back Anamaria, to a round of laughter from the rest of the crew.

Jack stuck his tongue out at her. "Pay attention, you lot! I…"

The sound of his voice faded away as Storm shut the door. She wandered back over to the bed and sat on its edge. She breathed a heavy sigh and ran another hand through her numerous braids.

"So close," she whispered to herself, and glanced out the window, "and yet so far."

!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!#!

A/N: Personally, I like this chapter. I got to get some foreshadowing in, plus some mild flashbacking, and show the discomfort Jack and Storm feel when they're in each other's presence. Plus it's really long! Anyway it is time for the review responses.

Anaknusan: Haha, yes it really seems as though you've inherited my rambling-nesss. Oh no! I'm contagious! Now government officials are going to carry me away and place me in quarintine so that I don't corrupt any more fanfiction readers! (cowers under desk). By the way, Egypt rules! That is all. Oh, and review again! :D:D

Random Character: Gah! That stupid asterixes thing! It's sooo bloody annoying. Even if I upload things as web pages they still disappear. Grrrrrrr. Well, now you have some idea of what Finn is going to do, and she's dragging poor Sam into it. Mwhahahaha!!! Review again! Well…you always do, don't you?

Gabwr: Person of very few words aren't ye? Still, I thank you for your encouragement.

Dreamgirl21147: Yes it was thick on suspense wasn't it? I hope I've answered all your questions (including where the rum has gone ;):P). See you in the next chapter!


	12. Remembering

A/N: I apologize profusely for the lateness of this chapter. I have just been swamped with stories I have to write not to mention roleplays I've been suckered into (and then of course there's school...haha, that's high on my list of priorities :P). Anyway, here's a fun look into Jack and Storm's past together. Enjoy!

JenDraca: That was short Jen, but you did get your point across.

Anaknusan: Yay! ::huddles happily under Johnny Depp poster:: Heh heh, I love the drawing scene. The sad thing is I actually drew Jack's stick drawing, just for fun (I'd say I was rather bored). Anyway I've finally updated! What are ye doin' readin' this lass? Go to the story!

Dreamgirl21147: Awww, you're so sweet. Thanks. I love the twins too , they're so much fun to write, read on and you'll see I threw in a bit for them.

Random Character: I smell like cheese??? Well then my insane friend, you have a rutabaga nose!! So there! Read on Macduff! (Sorry, english class has brainwashed me).

Disclaimer: StormMine, JackNot mine. Simple enough?

The sun was hanging just over the horizon when Jack returned to his quarters. Dusk's twilight filled the room, and he noticed that Storm was stretched out on his bed, fast asleep. He crossed the cabin and stood next to her prostrate form and watched her slumber.

Her head had rolled to one side and a few braids obscured her face. Her feet were bare and she'd removed the kohl from her eyes. She lay partially on her side, facing the wall, her chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. In sleep, Jack realized, she looked much younger than she was. Not vulnerable or naïve as youthful girls are prone to be, but simply unburdened, no anger or resentment to cloud her simple beauty.

All of a sudden, Jack was reminded of their first meeting.

::Flashback::

Jack's foremost thought when he first saw Storm O'Connor was what any adolescent boy's first thought would be when he had caught sight of even a mildly attractive girl. This would be, approximately; 'drooooooooool', along with several other thoughts that are not fit for print.

However, his more shrewd and alert side (the one that wasn't _completely _ruled by hormones) paid more attention to details. Storm had a way of moving, even when she was struggling against guards, that seemed to languish, if that were possible. Her expression was lazy, if somewhat annoyed at her treatment, but her eyes held great cunning.

She didn't look like a pirate, but that was because she wasn't one yet. She did, however, look like someone with the _potential _to be a pirate. She wore a beige blouse-type shirt (it might have been white once) and a skirt that appeared to have been sewn together from at least one hundred different coloured rags. On her head was a feathered cap reminiscent of Robin Hood.

She was a skinny lass, underfed, but she still had enough of a figure to attract Jack's attention. Although...if someone took the pains to attach breasts to coat rack it would have attracted Jack's attention. He wasn't of discriminating tastes.

When they first met, Jack was in prison. It was his first time, quite a milestone in his life. He and his mate, Anthony Barbossa, had been caught pickpocketing and until, some official decided to deal with them, they'd been left to rot behind bars. He was slightly worried, however. The two of them had recently joined the ship's crew of the _Defiant_, as cabin boys. The ship was a pirate vessel and was captained by Luke Callahan.

Jack was worried that if they didn't get back by nightfall, the ship would leave without them. After all, who would miss a pair of scrawny cabin boys?

He and Anthony watched with interest as five guards dragged the bizarre, struggling girl towards their cell. She wasn't alone either. There was another girl behind her, a redhead, dressed slightly more conservatively than the other...except for the long slit in her skirt.

The first girl, who Jack would later learn to be nicknamed Storm, was screaming all sorts of abuse at her captors. Mixed in were threats, complaints and some interesting profanity. As she came within a few steps of the bars she yelped. One of the guards had pinched a particularly fleshy part of her body. With great speed, she pivoted and elbowed the lecherous guard in the ribs. She turned and did it again to his other side.

Both prisoners and guards watched in startled amazement as she scolded the gasping offender.

"That is not yours to touch!" She berated, "What would your mother say if she were here to see this?"

She continued her lecture even as she and her friend were unceremoniously herded into the cell next to Jack and Anthony's.

"She'd tell you to mind yer bloody manners!!!" She yelled after their retreating backs. "Yeah, you run away!" She let go of the bars and turned to her friend, jerking her thumb in the direction of the officers, "bloody cowards."

With a heavy sigh, she sat down cross-legged on the stone floor. She took off her hat and ran her fingers impatiently through unruly short black locks, and glanced up at the other occupants of the prison.

"Ello there, mates," she greeted cheerfully, "Seems as we're fish stuck in the same net, we might as well get to know each other."

She extended a hand between the bars, "Name's Storm O'Connor." She gestured towards her companion, "this lass here is Faye Roberts."

Jack grinned and took her hand with enthusiasm. "I'm Jack Sparrow." He winked at her, "Ye can call me Jack."

Storm grinned back, "Pleased to meet ye, Sparrow." As Jack mused over the meaning of this response, she turned to Anthony. "And you, mate?"

His face devoid of expression, Anthony replied, "Barbossa."

Faye raised an eyebrow, "That's it?"

Jack snorted, "His name's Anthony," Anthony shot him a poisonous look, "But he doesn't want ye to know that. He doesn't think it suits him."

Storm appraised him for a moment. "He's right, it doesn't." She patted his hand, "don't worry, mate, maybe ye'll grow into it."

"So what are ye in here for?" Jack asked the girls.

Storm and Faye glanced over at each other and smiled conspiratorially.

"Wouldn't you like to know," Storm said mysteriously.

Jack wrinkled his brow. "Yes, I would like to know."

The two girls stuck their tongues out.

"Well, that's too bad for you then, in'nt?" Faye replied with an impish grin.

There was silence between the four youths for a moment. Storm turned to Faye.

"I think I've had my fill of this."

Faye nodded and smiled wickedly. "I have too, and methinks I see our way out."

She pointed towards the stairs where a scruffy sentry was making his way down. His clothes were grubby and he looked like he hadn't shaved in several days. His face was in the awkward and ugly not-hairy-enough-to-be-a-beard-but-hairy-enough-to-be-grotesque phase. He was carrying a bottle of some kind of cheap liquor in a hand that hadn't been washed since birth. He was, in one word, unsavoury.

Storm rubbed her hands together. "Well, ye know to do," she said quietly to Faye. "Let's get to work."

The two girls stood up and walked over to lean on the bars. Only they didn't walk, exactly. They _sashayed. _They shook their hair around and stood with one hip out, trying to catch the guard's attention. The guard (who, due to his appearance, most likely hadn't had a lay in a decade) quickly caught sight of them. They pouted sensuously at him and soon gained his full attention.

Storm made a 'come hither' motion with her index finger at him. She did not have to do it twice. The grubby man was at the bars in a heartbeat. He was practically slobbering with desire. It was disgusting. If it wasn't for what the girls were doing it would have seemed that they had almost an angelic disposition just for coming within a hundred yards of the pig.

Jack wrinkled his nose in disgust (and more than a little bit of jealousy) as the girls giggled and pressed themselves against the bars. Faye slipped her hand through, and began running her hands over the sentry's shirt towards his belt, while Storm whispered promises of pleasure in his ears. It was then that the girls' plan became blindingly obvious to Jack. He watched as Faye felt along the man's belt for his keys, Storm distracting the pig all the while.

With a coy smile, Storm brought her face close to the (to put it lightly) over-excited sentry's and, suddenly, she snapped her head forward, slamming her forehead against his, knocking the man unconscious. He slumped and fell like a rag doll to the ground...only with a much louder thump.

"Blarg, I hate doin' that," said Storm, sticking out her tongue with distaste. "Got the keys, Faye, me girl?"

"Aye," replied her friend with a grin, holding up the brass ring.

"Luverly! Now let's be out of this cesspool."

Storm looked over her shoulder at the neighbouring cell and gave Jack and Anthony an impish wave. "Be seein' ye, mates!"

A moment later, she and Faye were stepping through the open cell door (and over the body of the guard) into freedom. As they turned to leave Jack realized what was happening.

"Wait!" He cried.

The two lasses paused and looked back at him with innocently quizzical expressions.

"What ails ye, Sparrow?" Storm asked, her blue-grey eyes sparkling with mirth.

"Ye can't just leave us here!"

The female companions glanced at one another and back again.

"I think we can, actually," Faye replied.

"And that's what we're doin'," finished Storm.

Anthony spoke up. "We'll yell for the guards."

Storm's eyes narrowed dangerously. "I don't think ye'd be that stupid, mate."

"Ye'd be amazed how stupid we can be." Jack's forehead wrinkled, "wait, that didn't come out right."

"If that be the case then, lads," Storm replied, ignoring Jack, "then maybe I'll just cut yer tongues out." She moved to stand in front of the cell door, and leaned forward, smiling like a snake. "That would be much simpler."

"You wouldn't have the bollocks," said Anthony.

"We may not have bollocks, but Faye and I are still thrice the man you are," Storm shot back.

"With those looks I could believe it."

Storm and Faye's eyes darkened with anger and as one they straightened, murder on their faces.

Jack backed slightly away from the girls, holding up his hands in a placating gesture. "Wait, dear ladies!" he pleaded. "Don't listen to Anthony, he's an antisocial moron," at this Anthony looked angrily at Jack and opened his mouth but Jack ignored him, "Listen, we can make a deal!"

Faye raised an eyebrow. "What sort of deal?"

"Anthony and meself work on a ship. If ye lend us a hand, we could return the favor and put in a good word with the Cap'n for ye. Savvy?" Jack had recently heard a crewman use this last word, and he thought it sounded debonair. He was considering adding it to his daily speech.

A shrewd expression crossed Storm's features. She and Faye held a quick whispered consultation-which Jack strained to hear, but it sounded as though they were speaking in code-then they turned back.

"Very well. It's a deal."

Storm held out her left hand to Jack, through the bars, and Faye did the same for Anthony. After they'd all shaken hands Storm deftly pulled the ring of keys from her bodice (where she'd stowed it) and in a smooth movement unlocked the door.

In a flash, the four youths were running lightly down a passage and up the stairs to freedom. Well, Storm and Faye were running lightly. Jack and Anthony were clomping and making as much noise two teenage boys can, which is only a little less than the sound of a charging rhino running on a field of accordions. Storm winced but accepted it, if they made up for their lack of stealth with speed, they'd be alright.

They met no resistance until they were within three steps of liberty. It came in the shape of a door. A locked door for which they had no key. Dimly, in the distance, they suddenly heard a cry of alarm. Somebody had found the sentry, no doubt. Soon the gaol would be overrun with soldiers.

"So what's the plan now?" asked Jack, somewhat sardonically.

Storm didn't bother to even glance at him, instead she examined the lock and allowed herself a smirk. "Don't get yer knickers in a twist, mate. I've got it."

Once again, she slipped her hand into her blouse, this time retrieving a small, sheathed knife. Jack and Anthony watched with male interest at the display, trying to subtly move closer to get a better view. Storm stopped them in their tracks with a baleful glare.

The blade of the knife was very thin and sharp, very useful for lock-picking. For what seemed like a long moment, Storm gently twisted the knife back and forth, her face filled with concentration. She was quite skilled, and soon there came the satisfying sound of a muted '_click_'. Storm turned and flashed a pleased grin at Faye.

"Ye'll have to teach me how to do that," said Jack, more than a little impressed.

"After ye get us on yer ship," replied the girl.

She pushed open the door and the small group was surprised to see a disheveled dark-haired boy kneeling on the other side of the threshold. For a moment everyone just stared in shock and then Storm cried out happily:

"James!"

"Samantha!" returned the boy, as he rose to his feet.

Annoyance crossed Storm's face, "I told ye James, tis Storm now."

"Aye," replied James with a grin, "I know that, I just like to irritate ye."

"What are ye doin' here of all places, James?" asked Faye.

"Rescuin' the two of ye, but it seems that's not needed." Just then James seemed to register Jack and Anthony's presence, "Oo are these blokes?"

"Jack Sparrow, at your service," answered Jack with some parody of a courtly bow.

"Anthony Barbossa." Replied his friend sullenly.

"James O'Connor," returned the newcomer.

"They promised to get us on a ship if we sprung them. Which we 'ave, by the way."

"What ship?" asked James.

"The Defiant."

James let out a low whistle, "That's a pirate vessel, in'nt?"

"Aye, that it is."

Storm's grin grew wider, "Even better then!"

More shouts and sounds of running feet drifted up to their ears. Storm seized Jack's hand and started running towards the harbour, "Well let's be off, lads and lasses. Time it is a'wastin'!"

::End Flashback::

"Jack, why are ye starin' at me?"

His bout of nostalgia broken, Jack refocused on Storm's face. Her eyes were open, bleary with sleep but still sharp with suspicion.

"Sorry, luv, lost in thought."

"Ah, yes, well ye don't venture there very often so I can see how ye'd get lost."

"Ha ha," Jack replied drily, "very witty, luv."

"I thought so."

Battling the lingering weariness in her limbs, Storm struggled into a sitting position, bracing her back against the wall behind her. She was partially wrapped in Jack's blanket and had drawn her knees to her chest. The position made her look a little like a child playing hide-and-seek.

She was about to say something to Jack when she was interrupted by an elaborate knock at the door. When Jack opened it, the knockers turned out to be Finn and Sam. Finn was holding a bottle of red wine and Sam clutched a small plate of cheese and biscuits.

"Happy anniversary!" They cried together, Sam's cry a little lackluster.

"Anniversary?" Storm asked incredulously from her perch on the bunk. "What...? How...? It's not our anniversary!"

"Yes, well," Finn replied, waving her hand dismissively, "you do have twelve of them to catch up on so you must as well start now."

She and Sam shoved the random presents into their father's hands and turned to flee.

"Where did you get these?" asked Jack.

"Oh," said Finn innocently, "we just stumbled upon them in our travels. You know on our rounds in the galley's...locked cupboards...secret compartments..."

"Well we must be off," said Sam, grabbing her sister, "we have to attend to...something."

"Enjoy!" Finn yelled as she was dragged away by Sam.

Jack blinked once or twice, and then shut the door with one foot. He looked down at the bottle and plate in his arms.

"Well, that was bizarre," he said.

Storm shrugged. "What would you expect? They are ours."

"True," agreed Jack. "So, what now?"

"You heard them. Hell, it's our anniversary!" Storm threw her hands up with this exclamation. "Pass the wine, would ye?"

A/N: And that's the end of that. Don't worry there shall be some drunken fun in the next chapter. It shall come faster if you review! See you in the next chapter!


	13. It All Falls Apart

A/N: After Anaknusan dedicated her last chapter to me in her fic, I was so overcome with warm, fuzzy feelings that I thought that I should return the gesture. I was going to dedicate this chapter solely to her, but then my inner nagging voice said that I had other very loyal followers and I should thank them too. So I will.

This chapter is dedicated to:** Anaknusan**, **Random Character** and, **Dreamgirl21147.**

**Dreamgirl21147:** You have been with this story since chapter three and have reviewed faithfully ever since. Thank you so very much, you're an absolute sweetheart.

**Random Character: **My dear, half crazy friend from real life. How could I not dedicate a chapter to you? (Even though you are my friend, and are therefore obligated to review my stories :P.) I could have just ignored you I suppose, but I didn't! Doesn't that make you feel special? Although they may not serve any practical purpose, your rambling reviews always put a laugh in my day. :Glomps: Have a cookie. :Hands you a virtual cookie:

**Anaknusan: **My faraway friend from…erm…wherever it is you live! I always look forward to reading your reviews, they never fail to boost my confidence as a writer. I know I've said this already but the dedication you gave me in your story was a rainbow in an otherwise dreary and depressing week. Not to mention the fact that I can always count on finding a great rambling review in my inbox from you every time I update. Thanks a bunch for being my fanfiction buddy . Wow, I'm getting all sappy :S this is very un-me. Le sigh. Alas, that's what happens when I spend the greater part of my afternoon listening to Beatles music. I'll try to cut this short. Take care, Nakky, I hope to hear from you soon.

Disclaimer: (Insert generic and/or humourous disclaimer here.)

**Chapter 13**

It All Falls Apart

Dawn in the Caribbean is one of the most awe-inspiring visions that Mother Nature can create. One can't even try to compare it to sunrise in England, where muted light merely manages to drag itself between the clouds to collapse with exhaustion on the landscape. In the tropics it is an almost blinding symphony of colour and triumphant glory when the newborn sun overcomes the edge of the horizon and sends forth orange rays to dance on a glittering sea. A jeweled sea, the one treasure that no true pirate can ever resist. All the world seems filled with hope and promise at that moment, when there is only the rebirth of life and hope. It inspires the mind and soothes the troubled soul.

Pity no one was awake to see it.

An hour later, Sam groaned as consciousness pounded its way once again into her skull. Finn, eternally enthusiastic, was shaking her sister vigorously out of her short lived slumber. The two of them had been awake for the better part of the night and had spent the time near the captain's cabin to ensure that their parents didn't kill each other. So far things had seemed promising, there had been a lot of laughter coming from inside, and no corpses were to be found as far as Sam could surmise, as she looked blearily around her.

Sleeping on a pile of ropes has to be the worst way of spending the night, the girl thought as she rubbed her aching back. It was still fairly early, but already the ship was bustling with activity. The entire crew seemed on edge as they worked, as though they could sense some hidden threat coming from the island, despite its peaceful appearance. Even Sam, her mind addled from her rude awakening could feel a spark of uneasiness growing in her belly.

Forcing her complaining muscles into some semblance of action, the pirate's daughter rolled off of her rope pile and onto the deck. She lingered there, pondering going back to sleep right on the boards until Cotton stepped on her arm as he passed by. With a groan and a half-hearted curse, Sam struggled to her feet, and moved to lean her elbows on the railing. She stared at the island, studying it intently. It had been only a month or two since she'd seen it last. There was nothing extraordinary about it; just small rocky cliffs, sand and palm trees. Perfectly ordinary. And yet, no matter how she looked at it, all Sam could see was the burning ship of her uncle, the screams of his crew, and her mother's stricken face as she was forced to flee. Sam and Finn were pirate's daughters, well used to battles and danger, but that time had been different. There had been no sense of adventure then, there had been no victory. They had lost.

Still half-asleep, Jack stretched languidly and reached out beside him. The bed was warm but empty. That was odd. It hadn't been empty last night, he knew that much. Reluctantly, the pirate blinked his eyes open. The cabin was shrouded in a pale gloom, illuminated only by a thin stream of sunlight pouring in between the half drawn curtains. Standing near the desk was Storm, some of her braids had come undone and she was only half dressed. She was facing him, but her head was bowed as she buckled her wide belt around her waist and she didn't notice that he was awake.

"_Just one night…that's all we have."_

She glanced up quickly and started to pull back her hair when Jack caught her gaze. She froze, her expression unreadable. For a moment, she opened her mouth and seemed about to say something, but no words came.

"_Who knows what tomorrow will bring?"_

Jack waited, propping himself up on one elbow to better regard Storm. It was obvious she hadn't wanted him to see her leave. He grinned roguishly at her but she said nothing. After a few long heartbeats she flashed him a tight smile and turned away, reaching for her shirt.

_Memories of her arms around him, of kissing her fiercely sprang unbidden to his mind. It had been just like that first time, during that gale on their first ship under the stairs. When they had been so sure they were going to die, but they were young and free and felt they could conquer anything. But this time it was so different…There had been a sharp pang of desperation, the pain known only to lovers who know that there is no future. _

_There was no love between them now, only unfulfilled and bitter longing._

"Get up," Storm ordered curtly, still looking away, "Dawn has already passed. There's miles to go before we rest."

Jack smiled at her back. "Pity we missed our chance to rest last night, eh?"

Unable to resist the playful banter, Storm replied dryly, "We were too busy for that, were we not?"

"Care to spar with me again, love?"

At that comment, the she-pirate deigned to cast him a dirty look. "No time for that, you lecher. Rouse yer lazy arse."

Content in his teasing, Jack leaned back in bed and winked back at her. "Maybe you should come get me arse for me."

Storm's eyes narrowed dangerously and paused in her buttoning of her vest, "Very well." She strode towards him and had just begun to aim a strike at a particularly tender part of his anatomy when Jack caught on and scurried out of her reach.

She rolled her eyes and returned her attention to dressing. She had just buckled on her rapier when she gasped, feeling her inconvenient lover's kiss on her neck. Storm whirled around, facing Jack down, the warning in her eyes acting as a shield to his advances.

"Now is not the time," she said with an edge to her voice.

"When did we ever let that stop us?" replied Jack.

Unable to hold back, their lips met again in a battle for control. They clutched at each other, the fire of the previous night rekindling itself.

_Even with their flesh touching, they were still so far away, both in love with nothing but a faded memory._

They sprang apart like guilty children, suddenly remembering the promise they had made last night that they had already broken.

_No more. Just one night._

Storm looked down and pushed her hair back. "Get dressed," she said.

_Never again. The past is dead._

Clouds had long since covered up the sun by midday, something the pirates were deeply grateful for. Cutting through tropical undergrowth during the hottest part of the day was not a favourable pastime by their standards, whatever the circumstances.

The landing party was small; Jack and Storm were there, of course, along with Gibbs, Cotton, Anamaria and a few of the stronger new recruits. Somehow, through their vast powers of manipulation, Finn and Sam had managed to smuggle themselves ashore as well. At first they had treated it light-heartedly as some grand adventure, but the pinched, nervous faces of the adults around them and their own trepidation soon put a damper on their spirits.

For the most part, the group traveled wordlessly. The only sounds between them were the _swish_ of their blades cutting a path through the foliage and the constant thud of their boots as they marched. Jack kept a silly grin on his face, and on occasion would make some quip or comment to Gibbs or Storm, but despite his carefree façade, he subtly kept one hand near his sword. Storm made no effort to answer his attempts to engage her in conversation. Her eyes were as clouded as the sky.

Suddenly, after a moment of exchanging a word with one of the crew, Gibbs stopped walking and turned to Jack.

"This is a fruitless endeavor, Cap'n. We've been goin' in circles!"

Jack bounded on a few paces ahead and examined the lay of the land. He frowned. Jack didn't trust land, it didn't move enough for his liking. He found it very easy to get lost on. The sea on the other hand, now there was a piece of geography you could trust. The horizon wasn't something that lied to you. You could always see it, it was always there. The land liked to play tricks on you. Which is what it was doing to Jack at that moment. As soon as Gibbs had said his piece, Jack felt the unpleasant squirmy sensation he got when he found out he was wrong about something important. Now that he thought about it, he was sure he'd been here before…

"Oi, Da, Mumsy!" called out one of his daughters.

The two pirates turned to look at Finn and Sam, who were staring intently at the bark on a palm tree. As Jack got closer, he saw that there were markings scratched there into the wood. It was a simple symbol, if totally meaningless to him. It was a circle, a bit wobbly but recognizable, with a vertical line struck through it. Storm reached out and lightly ran her fingers over the scratchings.

"He was here," she whispered.

"Who? James?" asked Jack.

Storm nodded, still entranced by the sign left by her brother. "James and meself made up this code when we were littl'uns. We would leave them all over town as messages to each other…"

"What does this one mean?"

"Nothing too special; just that he was here. I s'pose he didn't have time to carve anythin' else…"

Storm's gaze flickered downwards. She paused and pushed away an overgrown fern that was covering the base of the palm tree. There, a few inches underneath the circle was an arrow, pointing roughly north-west.

"Even I know what that means," said Jack.

"That way!" cried Storm, already on her feet.

Jack sighed. "Always interrupting," he said mock-mournfully, "Don't know where she got her manners."

With that, he chased after her, his twin daughters only paces behind him.

They ran through the undergrowth, heedless of the branches that slapped against their skin. Sam stumbled more than once, she was less nimble at avoiding the roots than her sister, but Finn was there to make sure she didn't fall. Jack was panting, he may have been fairly young, but years of repeated drunken debauchery had somewhat dulled his stamina, and in truth he needed the incentive of the whole British Navy on his heels to keep him going over long distances.

At last Jack saw that Storm had stopped running. Grateful for the rest he loped towards her, a wry comment on his lips but stopped short when he saw her posture. She was standing ramrod straight, her head tilted up with her hands clenched in fists at her sides. She was shaking. Jack saw what she looking at just as Sam and Finn entered the clearing.

"Don't look!" he cried to them. The pirate whirled on his daughters and covered their eyes. Despite their protests, he turned them physically around. "Don't look up, just go back, go back to the others…"

All this time, Storm hadn't moved.

By then, the crew had arrived. They too came with questions already dying on their lips. They stopped and stared. Finn and Sam managed to wriggle out of Jack's grasp and turned to see what the fuss was about. They only got a glimpse when Anamaria, some long-dead maternal instinct resurfacing, pulled them to her and covered their eyes, shielding them from the grim truth hanging from the trees.

For a long time, no one seemed to know what to do. Then Jack, seeing it as his duty as Captain, removed his tricorn hat, put it reverently over his heart and gave a pirate salute to the gently swaying corpse of Captain James Matthew O'Connor.

"Cut him down!"

This broken cry from Storm cut through the air and broke the spell surrounding the clearing. Jack and the crew managed to wrench their eyes away from James' body to look at his sister. She was frighteningly calm, still stretched taut as a bowstring but her face betrayed no grief, no anger. One or two pirates fumbled clumsily for their blades but hesitated, unsure of how to proceed. Finn disengaged herself from Anamaria's grasp and stepped forward as if in a dream. Sam grabbed at her sister's hand, but Finn pushed her away, her eyes locked on James.

"Uncle Jim?" she said, so softly and terrible with a child's disbelief that it echoed in everyone's ears.

Her mother could take the tension no longer. She drew her rapier and, with a yell, slammed it into the rope holding her dead brother with such a force that it buried itself in the tree behind it. As the body fell to the ground, Storm turned to her stricken daughter and embraced her tightly. She took all the pain into herself and hid it, as only a captain can. Even so far away from her own crew she had to be strong. For such is the burden of all leaders.

"Sir?"

Jack felt a sharp tug on his sleeve and looked around. It was Anamaria, staring at him with a grim expression.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Cap'n, how long has Storm been lookin' fer her brother?"

Jack thought. "Over three months now…" he said slowly.

"You see as well as I do then," she glanced around at the corpse and lowered her voice, "He's not far enough along yet."

Jack too looked over. James' skin was palely blue. His skin was slightly bloated, but he was still far too intact, too whole. He hadn't started to truly rot and no bird or beast had started to scavenge him yet. He couldn't have died more than a day or two before…

"It's a trap!" yelled the pirate captain, seconds before a musket ball lodged itself in the wood inches from Gibbs' ear.

"Take cover!" screamed the grizzled first mate, doing the same for himself.

In seconds there was chaos.

For several minutes, all that could be heard was the cracking of muskets and the cries of rage and pain when the shots struck flesh. Weapons practically flew to pirates' hands as they rolled into defensible positions. Sam rushed to her sister's side. The twins clasped each others hands tightly, daggers held in their free ones. They fell into a crouch behind their mother just as waves of privateers crashed their way through the trees.

Storm wasn't a brilliant fighter, having learned later on in her life, but she was fierce and the need to protect her children gave strength to her limbs. With an almost feral snarl she hacked at her enemies with abandon.

Jack wasted no time in dueling with his opponents; he killed and wounded them as quickly as his heart beat within his chest. He jumped back as he pulled his sword out of the side of a shrieking privateer and heard a _clang_ behind him. Jack turned in time to see a very surprised looking privateer loosely pointing their blade at his throat. He made no move to stab Jack but merely blinked, looked down at the rapidly growing red spot over his heart and fell unceremoniously to the ground, his face still frozen in a mask of perplexity. Jack looked past where the unlucky man had been standing and saw Cotton reloading his pistol. The mute pirate glanced over and, meeting Jack's gaze, gave his captain a curt nod. Jack grinned and returned it. With a joyful whoop he rejoined the fray.

With the excitement and adrenalin of battle, Finn had momentarily forgotten the horror of seeing her dead uncle. She laughed as she and Sam spun and twisted, linked hand in hand. They used their small size and speed to their advantage, by ducking under the swings of their slower enemies, slipping around behind and either hamstringing them or knocking them unconscious. As one privateer ran by (ignoring the two children for more equal opponents) the butt of his musket hit Sam in the back of her head. Jarred by the blow, the girl swayed and let go of Finn's hand. In the madness that was the impromptu battlefield, the two sisters became separated. Sam stumbled a few paces, knocked aside a few times by combatants, until at last she came to lean against a palm tree. She clutched the welt on her head and slid to the ground.

"Sam!" yelled Finn.

Suddenly frustrated with the press of bodies all around her, Finn O'Connor struggled to keep her gaze locked on Sam's slumped form as she fought her way through the crowd. Out of the corner of her eye Finn saw Anamaria take a musket ball in her shoulder. The she-pirate fell to one knee, gritting her teeth against the pain as she proudly fought against the inexorable press of foes coming at her from all sides. Without thinking about it, Finn drew a throwing knife from one of her many hidden pouches and let it fly. Her aim wasn't the best, her missile didn't hit any vitals, but it proved enough of a distraction for Ana to get back on her feet.

Sam pulled herself to her feet. She still felt groggy, but at least the world had sorted itself back into semi-coherent shapes. Holding her dagger to her chest like a shield, she glanced around for some sign of Finn. She saw her, seconds before she saw the danger. One of the privateers had lit a small explosive and had thrown it not feet away from where Finn was standing. Uncaring of the pain in her skull, Sam pushed her way through the fray and threw herself at her sister.

Several things happened at once.

Sam and Finn tumbled to the ground together, Sam shielding her twin sister with her body. Their mother, Storm, also caught sight of the danger. The fear that chilled her at seeing her daughters in that danger was more than enough to distract her from the enemies she was fighting. She was about to leave her current opponent to protect her children when she felt a sharp crack to the back of her neck, and all was blackness. Jack saw her fall, but was too far away to help her. He started to cut his way through the sea of bodies towards her, calling her name…

There was an explosion.

For a split-second, there was silence.

And then the sound of the screams, the gunshots and steel ringing on steel filtered back into Finn's confused ears. She lay still, dimly aware that something heavy was on top of her. Whatever it was, it felt warm and-strangely-disconcertingly still. Finn opened her eyes and gasped sharply. It was Sam. Finn couldn't see her face, but there were red spots on her shirt and she was limp. Finn felt her blood run cold. With a heave, she rolled over, knocking her sister off in the process. Finn knelt beside her, taking in her sister's wounds with disbelief. Sam's whole left side was covered in blood and Finn couldn't tell where it was coming from. Her eyes were closed, and she looked dreadfully pale.

"Sam?"

Finn didn't even realize she was sobbing as she ripped her bandana off her head. She bunched up the faded blue cloth and after pulling up her twin's shirt a little; she began wiping away at the blood, until her vision became so blurry with tears that she couldn't see her sister anymore.

Jack raced through the maze of bright greens and yellows. His heart was beating in his throat, and he had no idea where he was going. All he did was follow the sounds of the privateers crashing through before him. Their progress was slowed by having to carry the unconscious Storm, but they'd had a head start, and it was all Jack could do to catch up with them. Jack didn't really think about what he was feeling as he ran. He was scared, though he would never admit it. He was scared for Storm. He knew what they would do to her; he didn't have to guess after seeing James' body. Maybe she would be granted a trial but the end result would be the same. And that thought hurt him. Storm may not have been a serious love of his, she may not have even been really a friend anymore to him, but she was a part of his past, as real as Tortuga, as real as old Bootstrap. Perhaps Jack didn't love her, but he didn't want to lose her.

Abruptly, the line of trees ended, revealing a shining beach marred with Storm's blood. She had awakened, slightly, and was vainly trying to break free. But she was weakened and weaponless against an entire crew of armed sailors. It was not long before they overpowered her, and loaded her, bound head to foot onto one of the rowboats.

As the boat traveled swiftly across the water, Jack ran after it. He knew there was nothing he could do, but he stood hip-deep in the crashing waves anyway, calling to Storm. Hearing his voice carried to her over the water, Storm revived a bit and leaned over the edge of the rowboat. She tried to stand and she urgently called something back to him, but her words were lost on the wind, and she was gagged before she once again succumbed to blackness.

Jack watched them go. What else could he do?

A/N: Wow, I'm breaking my own heart here. Now, I would spend some time reassuring you about Sam's condition…but that would ruin the next chapter, and I _know_ you'd hate that. If you review, you'll find out faster. Ah, good old blackmail…Take care, everyone.


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